Bet On Love
by D4cHilliN
Summary: BV A night of entertainment between friends turns into a heated battle. Three bachelors make a wager. Who can get into bed with a certain woman the quickest with proof that they accomplished it? It's win or lose!
1. Prologue

A night of entertainment between friends turns into a heated battle. Three bachelors make a wager. Who can get into bed with a certain woman the quickest with prove that they accomplished it? Vegeta undoubtedly takes the challenge along with 17 and Yamcha. And what happens when the selected female is none other then Bulma Briefs?

* * *

**_Prologue: Meet the Bachelors._**

* * *

Number 1#:

It was mid morning and the sun was rising over the water, sending blankets of sparkling colors cascading off the crystal liquid in a display of beauty that only nature could make. The audience of the display held a single wineglass, gently rotating the glass to stir the contents inside. He let a small smirk play across his features and leaned back in his chair, mentally congratulating himself for buying a cottage over looking the bright sea.

As a child he had always loved water. And as he matured he began to actually become addicted it. Then he learned to surf. Surfing was one of his greatest pastimes now. As a teen, he was excited by the sheer thrill of riding on those waves and landing those moves.

Until he broke his leg. Then he realized that surfing wasn't an all time Career.

Which led him to this.

A Lawyer.

Yes, many people sighed or groaned at that word. Lawyer. But he himself, did not.

Yeah, so Lawyers were pains and they did some dirty things in their lifetimes.

But god damn it, they saved lives also and he was a fucking good Lawyer, no doubt. He had saved countless of innocent lives from going to rot in the county jail or juvenile hall.

So the next time someone groaned at his job he told them this: Kick my ass, I contribute to this community just as you do. And to him, it was absolutely true.

He ran a hand through his long tresses of black hair and smiled again, titling the glass towards his lips. He had never thought about cutting his long locks and till this day they had grew and grew.

His hair reached his waist now.

At one time in history, he had had his hair short. Yes, not even shoulder length. Now that he looked back on it, his hair did not look right short. Or not in his opinion. He finished up the wine and sat the glass on the table before him.

The sun was up and blazing through the air now. Another hot day.

The bachelor ran his hand through his hair again and checked his wristwatch. He was late? But he couldn't be, there had to be time left. He stood up abruptly and started organizing the papers on his table, angry at himself for wasting so much time sitting out here sight seeing. Not one of his better ideas. As he bolted into his home one of his papers flew out of his hair and went sailing into the sky when the wind suddenly picked up.

He frowned. Lucky him. He'd have to worry about that later, he told himself before closing the screen door and disappearing into his he was scared of now was getting chewed out by his boss, Piccolo. The man wasn't pretty when he was angry.

The paper flew through the sky and eventually landed on the ocean water that wasn't too far away from its original destination. At the top, on it, read, in bold letters, the name of the owner:

**_Seventeen_**

Meet our first bachelor.

* * *

Number Duo(2)

He slammed his alarm clock off when the ringing got to him. He raised his head slightly to only realize that he wasn't in his own room. That hadn't been his alarm. This wasn't his bed. The dazed man climbed out of bed and got to his feet. The first thing he noticed was that he was naked and clothes with scattered all over the carpet covered floor.

He smirked.

Only meant on thing. He had gotten drunk, hooked up with some chick and ended up here.

He had a slight problem though.

Where was here?

He turned his head and noticed a figure curled up in the sheets. That would be 'chick'. He carefully dressed so as not to wake her, found all his possessions, consisting of wallets, money, keys, etc and dipped out of the apartment room, leaving only his underwear as a gift. It wasn't his fault.

He had thought he had gotten everything until he was in the taxi.

He had no underwear on.

The man sighed and fidgeted a little, thinking that next time he'd bring a spare with him. How do you forget your own god damn underwear? He yelled mentally at himself. He paid the driver and slipped out of the car. Standing now infront of HIS apartment, he entered with his key. It was still early he supposed, which was why it was so quiet in the building.

Better for him, he thought. He didn't need anyone asking questions about him coming in so late.

The first thing he did upon entering was sliding on some fucking underwear. Then after that, he made himself a pot of coffee to start him off.

Today was going to be hectic he already knew.

It was blazing hot today!

He was late for work and actually didn't feel like going anyway.

He had a fucking hangover.

He probably wasn't going to answer his phone calls. Not after the argument they got into last week.

He knew was going to puke in the next ten minutes.

And true to his word, he bolted out of the small living room and staggered into the bathroom, vomiting all the contents he had consumed yesterday.

Hanging up above his head was a medal he had won in high school. It read, in bold letters:

**_Yamcha _**

Meet Bachelor number Two

* * *

Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn!

He increased the pressure on the pedal and ran a red light. The day was already turning out terrible! He was only consciously aware of his partner, sitting beside him with a look of absolute fear on his face.

Wimp.

He ran another red light and tried his best to flick off a car that almost hit him without losing control of the wheel. After all, he couldn't possibly get pulled over by a cop.

Mainly because, he _was_ a cop.

He smirked to himself at the irony.

So, yeah, he was abusing his power of being an officer because he was running late. It wasn't a crime.

It actually was. But he'd ignore that if you did.

He hit another tight curve and almost flew off the side of the bridge. Wow, he'd have to remember NOT to do that anymore. He saw the station come into view ahead of him. He fanned himself a bit at the heat and slowed down. He immediately saw his partner relax and let out a sigh.

Wimp.

He came to a halt in a handicapped parking space. His partner looked at him as if to say, 'You aren't handicapped!'

"Shut up Kakarot and get out of the car. If it makes you feel better, I'd be happy to break a limb of yours."

"No thanks, Vegeta." Kakarot replied, also known as Goku by friends.

And there you have it.

**_Vegeta_**

Meet our third Bachelor.


	2. Hectic Times and Busy lifes

* * *

**_Chapter One._**

* * *

The dry heat was not what one was hoping to encounter upon arrival. The day had started out quite gloomy and it probably would end the same way. On days like this, most people crawled up into a ball inside their homes and visited their own little world of humanity.

But some had to bear the heat and insanity of traffic.

The relocation of the Capsule Corporation Compound was yet to be heard through out the the news. This was good considering the type of paparazzi that'd appear.

For those who don't know, Capsule Corp got its name from the production and selling of capsules that held mostly anything. From toys to whole houses, the capsules could hold it all. The founder of this miraculous item was none other then Dr.Briefs who was known elsewhere for other experiments that were greatly idolized.

The CC Compound was being, by luck or none, placed right in the middle of the city they were being relocated to.

So much for subtly.

A black stretch limo, windows tinted, was carrying 3 passengers ,plus the driver himself, all with multiple thoughts, all heading to the new CC building.

The only male of the group, excluding the driver, was slightly anxious about the whole thing. He had always liked to travel and seemed like he'd be doing that a lot. They had moved three times but this one was an out-of-the-state move. But he was still happy.

Sure, he had to leave his home, parents, friends and girlfriend. He winced at the thought.

Ex-girlfriend now.

Aw, who was he kidding? This job had cost him everything but his soul. He had left everything to come to a place where he knew no one but the two ladies sitting with him in the limo. If he could rewind and decline he would have. Damn, why had he taken this job in the first place?

For money, simple as that. He got paid grands doing this job and nothing else could compare. He needed this money, he really did. He knew no other red blooded American would have passed up this chance. He'd be replaced in a heart beat if he hadn't agreed. The sad truth of it was that, he was disposable. He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead.

_You deserve better then this Tien, _he told himself with a sigh.

Next to him, with her blond hair, blue eyes and placid expression sat his partner and friend, 18. Her face held no expression but her mind was clicking with distress. She gently placed a loose strand of hair behind her ear, mildly angry that it kept getting in her way.

Just like Tien, 18 was not happy about the move. Not only were there bad memories in this city but Krillin was here also.

Her ex-husband.

The blond fiddled with her ball point pen, something she usually did at times and tried to calm herself. In a way, she missed this hot city of LA and all its pleasantries and difficulties. After all, all her friends was here and her brother. Her brother. 18 smiled at the thought. She had neglected to call her brother to tell him about her arrival. Something she planned on doing right away. She suddenly wondered if all her other friends were still residing here also. Chichi, Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Yamcha. It had been a whole five years since she'd left.

5 years since her divorce with Krillin.

Krillin.

Her eyes filled with tears but she quickly wiped those away. It was over with now. The divorce had been final years ago and nothing she did now would affect it.

But the memories were etched in her brain. The accident was a scar that had left her so useless and alone. So fearful.

Her poor little Maron.

18 pushed the thoughts aside like she managed to do any other time. That was not something she hoped to deal with at the time.

The last of the three, 18's and Tien's boss, was not at all fazed by the move as he two friends were. Sitting upright, lovely legs crossed, hands steepled at her knees, her long flowing blue hair hanging down over her shoulders, cerulean eyes unreadable.

She was wearing her poker face.

As many know, our blue haired wonder is known by public and community. After all, she was next in the line for Capsule Corporation and daughter of D.Briefs. Her name was Bulma Briefs, the intelligent, accurate, beautiful head of office as he mother sometimes said when she wanted to be dramatic.

Bulma spotted the CC building before they even arrived and held back a sigh. The whole idea of relocating hadn't appealed to her. In fact, she had almost went into a tirade. Her father had suspected that growing and moving the business would help it expand and bring in more cash and once he made up his mind she couldn't stop him.

Of course, Bulma was used to moving. All her childhood had been moving, moving, moving. So she wasn't totally displeasured about giving things up because she had nothing of value she was giving up.

So, just like she had to do since age 5, Bulma had to start all over. She had to learn where everything was located, run her business and find a home in a new city where she knew no one but 2 people.

It couldn't be that hard. Not to Bulma anyway.

* * *

Goku watched Vegeta, his partner, exit the car and shortly after he followed. Looked like Vegeta wasn't in a good mood and that wasn't much of a surprise. Goku raced to keep up with him as he made his way towards the station.

"Hey Vegeta, you okay?" Goku asked him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Same old, same old." Vegeta muttered. Goku stared and decided to respond.

"Did you and Chichi have a fight?" He tried again.

"Sorta." Vegeta mumbled. Chichi was Vegeta's younger sister and a pain in his ass everyday all day. Goku had always had a crush on her since they were little kids. He just never had the courage to tell her and besides, it'd be to weird going out with his best friend's sister right?

Maybe.

Either way, Goku wasn't sure if he wanted to admit his feelings just yet. They were grown now and Chichi was a 24 year old in college studying law while he was a 26 year old in law enforcement and Goku hadn't even thought about how Vegeta would react to someone dating his baby sister. When it came to guys dating Chichi, the guy was protective.

And Goku knew some things about Vegeta and Chichi. They were both temper mantle and had attitudes that normally got the best of each other.

It also wasn't that much better with them living together also. Brother and sister under the same roof always led to trouble.

"What happened now?" Goku asked as he held the door open for Vegeta.

"She's just acting like a little baby, is all." He replied with a shrug. " She wants to move out but I know she doesn't have the money for it, not with college and everything. Little brat never listened to reasoning."

"Maybe she just wants to get out and live on her own, ya know. Be mature and not live off you anymore." Goku suggested. Vegeta shrugged again.

"Doesn't matter what she wants she can't afford it." He dropped the subject once they started walking through the station towards Madison's office. Maddison was their, somewhat, boss. They were plains clothes and normally dealt with in city stuff but once in a while Madison gave them a rare investigative job. Like arresting a maniac that hung his wife and drowned his kids, which was a case, in particular, they had been given. "What did Madison want when he called you?"

"Said he had a case for us, is all." Was all Goku was able to reply with. "Didn't elaborate much further."

"Guess we gotta find out for ourselves." Vegeta said before entering Madison's office.

* * *

A red convertible swerved into a parking lot in front of a dark black building. The driver stepped out curtly and straightened his gray suit that had gotten a bit distorted in the drive. A briefcase was dangling from his left hand as he stepped inside the air conditioned building. He immediately took the elevator to the third floor after greeting a few friends on the first.

In a rush, he quickened his pace when the elevator doors opened, crashing into someone who had been ready to step in. Papers flew and a thud resounded.

"I'm so sorry...I was in a hurry...please don't-" He stopped when he recognized the woman.

Hazel eyes. Auburn hair that shined in the light. Dressed in a tight fitting suit that complimented her figure nicely.

Rainie.

"Oh that's quite alright-" She also stopped when she realized who it was. "Hello 17, how have you been?"

All thought left him and he felt his mouth turn dry. Rainie was a defense attorney, like himself, that he had came to adore. Her style, her face, her way of direction and confidence was all so lovely to him and he still hadn't been able to ask her out. No even once.

The idea of asking her out would be in his brain, his schedule would be free and she'd be smiling that beautiful smile yet he still couldn't manage to say the words.

"I've be-been good. You?" He stuttered and started picking up her dropped documents.

"Exceptional actually." She laughed getting to her feet and he felt his heart flutter. Such a beautiful laugh to him. Oh come on 17, he hadn't felt like this since high school. Forget it, she'd never go for you anyway, he told himself.

"Me too, well I gotta run." He raced away before she could say anything else. He was already late and Piccolo was gonna be on his ass.

"Look who decided to show his skinny little ass." Bellowed a deep voice. 17 glanced around to see the green skinned figure of his boss, standing fist on hips outside the conference room. "You know, you're making me look bad."

"Sorry Piccolo, the traffic was horrid and I-"

"Yeah yeah, heard it all before. "Piccolo pointed to the room behind him. "Get in there, we've been waiting for hours. And try to sound convincing when you explain your tardiness to the rest. I have a rep to uphold after all." 17 could see the smirk playing across his face. In all his days, 17 had never met a more fun boss to work under. Piccolo was just quiet, entertaining, intelligent and self sufficient wrapped into one.

"Yeah, I'll do my best." The young attorney said before starting towards the room. "Hey Piccolo, you're still joing me and my friends at the club on Saturday right?"

"As long as I don't have anything to do, yes." The namek answered before opening the door for him. "Now concentrate on this case we got about the man claiming he didn't commit homicide. I'll need your help."

"You always do." 17 smirked before walking in.

* * *


	3. Meet and Greet

* * *

**_Chapter Two._**

* * *

"I wanted to strangle her!"

"Did you?" The black eyed male asked casually, clipboard in hand, eyes glancing lazily over the the brown haired man before him who had green eyes and a furious expression on his face.

"What?" He asked, his face suddenly turned to confusion.

"Did you strangle her?" He repeated.

"Of course I didn't, Doc. I'd never hurt her."

Krillin listened intently and jotted some notes on the paper that lay on the clipboard. His patient, Micheal's, was experiencing what every couple went through.

Fights, arguments just little petty things. But Richard had admitted that he had wanted to hurt her and that could lead to abusing which was why he came to these Psychiatrist sessions, unknown to his wife.

He repeated over and over again that he'd never hurt her but Krillin wasn't sure if that was true. After all, if he knew he'd never lay a hand on her then he wouldn't be here right now.

Richard was just a normal husband concerned about him and his wife's relationships. He was just human. A human trying to find his way.

"Mr. Micheals, what are your arguments normally about?" Krillin asked, his eyes still glued to the clipboard.

"_Everything!"_Richard Micheal's revealed, throwing up his hands. "Anything at all that can cause an argument. I ask if she wants sausage on her pizza? We argue. I ask if she wants to someday have kids? We argue. I ask her if she wants to watch TV? We argue. I ask her if blue is her favorite color? We argue. I get so _sick_ of it!"

Krillin started clicking his pen, thinking deeply about the new things he had just heard. "It seems as though you two can't get along well. Have you two agreed on anything at all?"

Richard thought about it. "No, actually we haven't." The statement surprised both men. Krillin opened his mouth just as the little clock on the stand rung signaling the end of their session. His patient sighed and stood up. "I'll be back tomorrow."

"Wait, I haven't finished." Krillin told him. Unlike other Psychiatrist, Killin could care less about the money, he really wanted to help people.

"The clock rung. It's over and I'm already late. I was suppose to meet Lorraine at Roy's Cafe at 4 and it's already 5. No doubt a reason to argue." Richard exited the small room without another word. Krillin sighed and sat back in his chair. He had a strange connection with Richard.

Maybe because Krillin had went through what Richard was going through now.

He hadn't wanted to admit it to Richard but Krillin suspected that by the end of the month he and Lorraine would be divorced and starting their new lives far away from each other.

It had went the same why for Krillin himself. First the drifting, then the constant arguments then suddenly that unexpected divorce paper and the rest was chaos. Lawyers were needed, possessions were split and in the end, both spouses were separated.

And alone. Krillin pushed the sudden thought away and got up. He didn't have a patient until 7 at night so he had about 2 hours of free time. When the dry heat hit him as he exited the building, Krillin was glad that he had on a short sleeved white T-shirt and black shorts. He ran a hand through his short locks and smiled. He was glad he had decided to grow his hair out once again. As some ladies said, he looked _dashing_.

Short but Dashing none the less.

Krillin put a hand over his eyes to block out the sun and a couple blocks down he spotted the top of a building. It was big and he had never saw it before. He didn't give it much thought as he hopped in his vehicle and drove off.

* * *

18's 'top things to do when they arrived at the new Capsule Corp' was simple.

One.) She needed to find a temporary home. A apartment would start and then she'd have to go out in search of an actual house.

Two.) She needed to contact her friends and brother. They would be interested by her return and hopefully over joyed. And they hadn't even known that she was working under CC. Something else she had forgotten to mention to them before she left.

Three.) She needed to find an excuse that would get her out of the big Q and A tomorrow morning with the press. Not something she looked forward to.

The blond was pulled from her thoughts when the limo stopped abruptly. Her eyes automatically shot to the front of the new CC building that was much larger and luxurious then their last. It seemed to tower over the other buildings with predominance and validity. It was quite an awe aspiring sight at how incredibly enormous the round shaped building was as it glowed and shimmered in the bright evening sun.

"That's huge! I hope they have more then one bathroom..." Tien muttered absently, being the first to pull the handle and push the door open. Bulma waited and got out after with 18 following close behind.

Bulma kept her poker face on, revealing no emotions or anything that gave away a weakness. This was how she looked half the time at work. This face helped a lot when she was talking with future clients and stitching deals. It had grown on her and now it became natural. Her father had always said "Never show fear." So Bulma had thought, _Hell why show anything?_

The day was feeling hot and Bulma could feel the sweat trickle down her chest. She was wearing a tight fitting light blue skirt, a elegant silk blue tank top and a sporty little jacket over the ensemble. She felt like she was walking on the sun. And when that blast of air conditioning hit her and her employees when they made it inside, a collective of sighs arose.

"18 and Tien, there's not much to do right now except look around the place and you two can do that tomorrow. I'll stay and you guys go find a apartment or take a nap. You'll need the energy." Bulma instructed calmly.

"Actually, I have to call my brother. And knowing him he'd let me stay with him." 18 supplied. "Bulma, you don't have to stay here working your bones to their climax. Come with me and I could introduce you to my friends. They all stay here."

"No thanks 18." Bulma smiled apathetically. "I just don't think I have the time. Maybe some other day. Or Tien could go with you?"

"Sorry ladies, no can do. I have too much stuff on my plate right now. Thanks for the offer but I'm booked." He started towards the double doors. "See you girls tomorrow." Then he was gone. Neither women knew what the male had planned and they didn't raise questions. If Tien wanted them to know he would have told them. 18 sighed and pushed back a lock of hair that was in her face.

"Bulma are you sure you don't want to come along with me? I told you how much I've always wanted you to meet my friends. We could hang out." The blond tried again.

"No 18, sorry." Bulma said, adding "I was thinking of looking for a nice little restaurant or something and no, you dont have to show me where one is. I'll find it on my own." 18 shrugged

"Fine. But don't work yourself too hard." That said, she was too out the door.

"I'll try." Bulma smiled.

* * *

"GET OFF ME!"

Madison's 'case' had been none other then a drunken driver going down the wrong lane on the highway.

The widow peaked male shoved the bald twenty-something year old against the back of his car, gun in hand. "Shut up." He said calmly, pointing the gun directly at his temple. Vegeta then slightly titled the gun and fired two shots, both which did not hit the man and both that weren't intended to hit the man. The desired effect worked and that was to get the guy scared shitless. "I don't think you're in any position to give orders." He added, pulling the guy's wrists together tightly and slapping cuffs on them. "I'm not in the mood to deal with assholes."

"Gerald Forhine." Said Goku while he walked up behind them,a wallet in hand. He had a driver's license in the other, calmly swaying it back and forth in the air.

"What the hell? This is police brutality!" Gerald yelled out in a drunken stupor.

"You wouldn't happen to have visited a bar anytime in the last few hours?" Goku said while walking up behind him and with the help of Vegeta, shoving him into their car and locking the door.

"NO! I don't drink, Lorraine!" Gerald screamed, obviously drunk and mistaking the officers for someone else. Vegeta exchanged a look with Goku and they both shook their heads. He had been okay if he knew that they were police officers if he had yelled about 'police brutality' but now his memory must have been failing him.

"Shut up before I knock you the hell out." Vegeta muttered loud enough for him to hear before him and Goku hopped into the car and drove off.

"Damn you!" Gerald yelled from the back, trying to claw the metal barrier keeping him a prisoner in the back seat, off. "Let me out! What a fucking BITCH!"

"I'm gonna shoot your motherfucking head off, Forhine!" Vegeta warned, sitting in the passenger seat, he quickly withdrew his fire arm and pointed it back towards the male. "Now sit back and calm your ass down!!"

Goku caught Forhine's eyes in the mirror. "He'll do it."

So Gerald sat back and remained silent, fuming about his luck.

* * *

It was finally 5:50 and Chichi was relieved to be out of school. Carrying her book bag and holding extra heavy books, the black haired female made her way from the college campus to the old Toyota that her brother had left her with. She got into the vehicle, cranked the engine over and started towards her home.

She was so exhausted.

Who knew that after 18 years at high school, she'd still be in school. Becoming a attorney was hard. She had always wanted to be one ever since she accompanied 17 and Piccolo to one of their trials. She loved the thrill of helping out others. It was a part of her.

Instead of heading straight towards the house her and her brother shared, she made a quick stop.

Chichi pulled into the lot of her favorite mini cafe and, after making sure to lock the car door, she entered and was glad about the indoor air conditioning.(Everyone is!) Unfortunately for her, the place was packed at this time of day.

The waiter, which she knew by the name of Winslow, showed her to a table that was only occupied by one lady.

And she had blue hair.

Chichi took a seat and flashed the unknown female a polite smile. "Hello. Seems a little crowded here huh? But I guess we're used to it."

A smile from the woman. "Actually, I'm from out of town. My business is being relocated here at L.A."

"Oh?" Chichi leaned in a bit and held up her menu. "You work where?"

"Capsule Corporation."

"Oh, I didn't know they were being located here!" Chichi exclaimed. "Such a multimillion business shouldn't be here."

"You don't think? It was my dad's idea though." She outstretched a hand. "Bulma Briefs."

Chichi grasped Bulma's hand in her own and the women shook. "Chichi Prince."


	4. Dramatic

* * *

**_Chapter Three._**

* * *

"Hey, that's great! Maybe we could go to the beach some day if I have time." Bulma smiled, finishing her fourth glass of lemonade. She had been amazed at how quickly she had made a friend. Chichi and her had been talking for some time, getting to know one another. Chichi seemed genuine and when she asked Bulma if she'd want to get together later on, Bulma had agreed.

"Since you're new maybe I could show you around?" Chichi offered with a wide grin. She hadn't been hanging out with a woman her age since Eighteen and that was five years ago. The black haired girl was grateful for the meeting.

"Yeah sure, I'd love that." Bulma nodded and then shot her eyes to her wristwatch. 6:58. _Shit, I'm late. My father has been waiting at the building. _"I'm so sorry to end this but I have to go." She got to her feet clumsily, almost knocking over a glass while grabbing her purse.

"Oh of course," Chichi stood up also. She had also forgotten about the time. "I'm sorry to have kept you held up."

"No, no, it was my fault. The time slipped away." Bulma pulled out a card and handed it to Chichi. " My cell phone number is on there. If you have to reach me just call." She explained, gathering her possessions. Chichi nodded.

"Yeah OK, I'll contact you real soon." She said with a smile. After that Bulma was gone, hurrying out the door to her Mercedes.

Chichi stared at the card that was given to her, put it in her jeans pocket while running out the door, not forgetting to leave a tip, and jumping into her car.

* * *

Eighteen was irritated.

Her convertible was yet to arrive from their previous location and she was stuck riding in one of Capsule Corps many identical, small, company cars. The blond cranked the window down while she sped through the L.A streets._With all the cash CC rolls in they couldn't even spare a little for some damn air conditioning for these stupid cars?_ Eighteen thought dreadfully, sweat pouring down her face in gallons. Not only that but the vehicle's engine was atrociously loud, the paint was chipped off and rusting, turning the CC symbol into something unreadable, the seats were worn away, the driver's side car door wouldn't open, no matter how many times she banged against it and she was positive that one of the tires were flat.

"Just kill me." She mumbled to herself, gritting her teeth. Her destination was about 15 minutes away and they were the longest 15 minutes of her life. She was heading to her brother's house. He was probably at work at this time and Eighteen thought it would be better to surprise him when he came home. The only thing wrong with that is that she didn't know if he still resided at the house she was driving to. Yes, she'd admit that they hadn't kept in touch and the only number Eighteen had for her twin was his cell and hers wasn't working so that was a lost cause.

Eighteen had a key to his house but she was afraid of the possibility of that not being his current home. _We'll just have to see, _The blond thought.

So, here she was, cutting the engine of the busted vehicle which was now parked in the driveway of a light green house with a front porch and a fence circling the lawn. Eighteen sat for a moment, just in case someone was home and came out to investigate. When no one stepped out, she exited the car and walked slowly to the back door. She knocked, waiting again for anyone at all to open the door. After another long moment of silence she used her key.

__

Click

She was in. The woman opened the door and stepped inside, slowly closing and locking it after she made it inside. From the outside the house seemed homely and clustered maybe, looking as if their was a family of 6 inside. But when Eighteen scanned the room she was currently in, which happened to be the kitchen, there was a icky feeling creeping up her neck. The house felt deserted and eerily quiet. It was dark but clean and there wasn't much furniture either.

Eighteen stood for only a minute before something jumped on top of her from the back. She went down hard, on her stomach, screaming and clawing at the attacker.

The figure was pretty heavy and the wind had been knocked out of her when she had went down so Eighteen wasn't sure if she was going to beat it. Something wet hit her face, and two paws dug into the small of her back. There was some loud barking and it didn't take Eighteen long to figure out what had hopped on her. She got to her elbows and the attacker jumped off her back and ran around to be face to face with her.

"Pip." Was all Eighteen muttered while staring at the golden retriever blinking at her, tongue hanging out, panting and drooling. She was positive that this was the right house now. The dog licked her face again, leaving residue on her face and she laughed, getting to her feet. "Now why did Seventeen leave you all alone, huh Pip?" The blonde asked, rubbing the dog's back lovingly. The dog, dubbed Pip by Eighteen, barked and started scratching chasing her tail. Eighteen laughed again and shook her head. It had been a long time since her last encounter with her brother's playful animal, Pip. He had gotten the dog from an old girlfriend who had left the poor animal at his doorstep. Unable to leave it or get the girl to take it back, her twin had took it in and Pip had been living here for about 7 years now.

Pip growled, looking angry at not being able to catch it's tail. Eighteen's eyebrow twitched. To say Pip wasn't one of the _brightest_ dogs in the world was an understatement. Eighteen clicked up a light switch and was joyous when the kitchen lit up. Seventeen had kept it all the same. Clean, tidy and unused. He was rarely home and refrigerator was as it always was. Empty, except for a lone pizza box.

Eighteen walked into the other rooms, turning on lights and lamps, Pip right at her heels. After brightening the house she stood in the living room, wondering what to do next.

"You hungry, Pip?" Eighteen asked, turning her head to stare down at her. Pip blinked and barked, running around in circles with a goofy dog smile. "I'll take that as a yes." She shrugged and picked up Seventeen's home phone, choosing between fast food places to call.

* * *

Krillin was heading back towards his office when his cell phone rang. He snapped it open at a red light.

"Hello?"

"Krillin?" It was Seventeen.

"Yeah, what up Seventeen?"

"Man, listen! I'm at the office and Piccolo isn't going to let me leave so I need a favor OK bud?" He sounded rushed and nervous, as if he had only a limited time to talk on the phone which he probably did. Krillin pressed on the pedal when the light changed, accelerating his car down the street.

"What is it? I have an appointment in a few minutes." The bald man responded. There was rustling and then silence at the other end.

"I need you to make a quick stop at me house." Seventeen finally replied. "I left Pip there alone and I won't be home until late and she's going to be hungry. Just feed her is all I ask. Can you do that?"

"I don't know, man." Krillin said uneasily, taking a turn. "Your house isn't real close to my office and..."He let it hang but then added. "Can't you ask someone else to do it?"

"I can't leave. Goku, Vegeta and Yamcha aren't answering there cells and Chichi is at college. Who else is there to ask?" Seventeen asked, growing a bit annoyed.

Krillin breathed out a sigh. He didn't want to be late for his patient but Pip was very important to his friend and even if he wouldn't admit it, Pip was just as important to Krillin. "Fine. I'll make a quick stop there and feed Pip. But you owe me, man."

"Really?" Seventeen's voice lighted up and he sounded happy again. "Of course, anything you want, I'll give it to you." More rustling, a loud slam and then cursing resounded from Seventeen's line. "Shit, gotta go." And he disconnected.

Krillin sighed and buried the device back into his pocket. He made an U-turn and heading back towards Seventeen's home, cursing himself for being such a pushover.

* * *

__

BANG BANG BANG

Yamcha lifted his head up, eyes half closed, hair a mass of tangles on his head, half naked, laying face down and sprawled on his bed. He looked around his room but didn't see anything.

__

BANG BANG BANG

"YAMCHA!" Someone yelled from outside his apartment door. The voice had been light and filled with energy. A male. A kid. "YAMCHA! I'M COMING IN!!" The door opened and Yamcha heard soft but small footsteps exploring his tiny apartment home. "WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Yeah, Yamcha had a couple problems at this time. Some where good problems but the majority were bad. His head was killing him. He felt as if it would explode and his eyes were burning, sending jolts of steaming pain through his head. Yamcha still found himself panicking and thinking of his problems.

One, someone was in his home.

Two, he had NO idea who it was.

Three, he was in no condition to scuffle with the intruder in his present state, being hung over and all.

Four, the person knew him.

Five, all of his stuff could be taken and he wouldn't be able to stop it from happening/

Six, Yamcha had a hunch that it was one of his ex-girlfriend's sons that was sent here to kick his ass and raid his house.

A head popped into his open bedroom door and Yamcha almost yelped. He squinted his eyes and tried his best to uncover the person's face through the haze of colors. The kid was talking now but Yamcha wasn't listening. He still couldn't see the figure clear enough.

"Yamcha? You ok?" The kid asked with concern. Yamcha squinted even more. _Long black hair, black eyes, small, skinny. _He sighed and laid back down after he realized who it was.

"Gohan, how many times have I told you NOT to come uninvited into other people's homes? It's rude and you could get hurt." Yamcha muttered while closing his eyes. Gohan frowned.

"You weren't answering!" He countered angrily. "I thought you were dead so I came in to investigate." Yamcha laughed softly, head throbbing. The black haired child put hands on hips and Yamcha turned his head to stare at him. He was in raggedy jeans and a cut up shirt. His sneakers were busted and dirty and his face was smudged with dirt. His long hair was uncombed and a mess over his head. His coal eyes were fixed on Yamcha, unmoving.

"Fine. Ok, I wasn't answering but that's because I'm sick." He replied.

"You aren't sick, your hung over." Gohan stated with a scoff and roll of his eyes. Yamcha groaned. He had met Gohan a few years ago. The kid was only 9 and he was living in the apartment also with his foster parents who kept to themselves. The kid had grew up on the streets, orphaned and alone. He had knowledge about stuff that no nine year old should have and he was tough. Skinny and hard headed but tough and loving. The cuts and bruises on his arms from fighting with the older teens in the neighborhood could tell you that. He loved to fight and he knew how to withstand a beating. "I thought you quit drinking."

"You thought wrong." Yamcha mumbled.

"Shouldn't you be at work?" Gohan raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly.

"Shouldn't you be at school?" Yamcha countered with a bored look.

"Got suspended." Gohan shrugged, not bothering to elaborate further.

"You keep acting up and they'll expel you."

"You keep drinking and you'll become an addict."

Yamcha groaned again. Gohan got all his smart asses comments from Vegeta. He adored riding shot gun with Goku and Vegeta when they went out busting criminals and he spent so much time around Vegeta because he was always hanging with his sister, Chichi.

"Don't you have friends to play with? Parents to annoy? Five year olds to beat up?" Yamcha asked, getting up with much difficulty.

"Tom and Craig had to go to school. Carole and Dan are at work and If I knew some five year olds, I'd beat the shit out of them for you." The nine year old responded with a big huge Vegeta-type smirk. Yamcha felt another headache coming on but something that Gohan had said made him suspicious. The kid always referred to his foster parents by name and not 'mom' or 'dad'. He had been living with them for a couple years now and Yamcha had never heard Gohan talking excitingly or lovingly about them as he did Chichi or Goku or Piccolo or Krillin. It seemed as if they had disowned, Gohan or something.

__

Calm down Yamcha, he's a little kid . It takes a little longer for kids to become attached to their foster parents. He thought trying to reassure himself. Yamcha sighed and rubbed his head.

"You don't look too good." Gohan stated flatly. "Maybe you need something? Food maybe? Like a cake? A big, tall cake with a lot of icing. Chocolate icing, of course, dripping off the sides and LOTS of sugar and large amounts of ice cream on top. Chocolate ice cream of cour-" He was cut off when Yamcha ran past him, pushing him aside and sprinted into the bathroom, and vomited into the toilet. Gohan laughed loudly, holding his sides. _The mental picture of the desert that I described must have been too much for him, _Gohan thought devilishly.

* * *

Goku smirked and tapped the widowed peak male on his shoulder. "Look." He instructed casually, pointing a thumb behind him. Vegeta turned and his face darkened slightly at what his partner was referring to. The two cops were at a type of bar, canvassing the area in this bad part of town about a felon charged with assault with battery. They were sitting on stools at the bar, the dim lights made the club look even older and the loud rap music was blaring in their ears. Sitting by herself, in a skimpy outfit, sat a red head that was sending flirty looks in Vegeta's direction. She was smiling widely, fluttering her eyelashes and waving him over.

"Think she knows I'm a cop?"Vegeta asked flatly.

"No. If she did, she'd run for the hills."Goku replied lightly. Vegeta smirked nonetheless and checked his watch. 7:16. Hmm...he had a few minutes. "I know that look. You aren't planning on leaving me looking for this guy are you?"

"It crossed my mind." Vegeta shrugged indifferently. "I have minutes to spare and I'm horny as hell."

"What happened yesterday with that brunette?"Goku questioned, squinting through the darkness. Vegeta smirked as he recalled it. "I'm thinking that it ended well?"

"Yeah, you could say that." Vegeta shrugged once again but his smirk was wider. His attention was pulled back to the red head and she was looking slightly aggravated. He gave her his one of a kind smirk and that made her face grow red. "That's it. I'm irresistible." He stated smugly.

"How modest of you." Goku mumbled sarcastically. "Have you ever thought of settling down and having a family? Your getting pretty old there."

"I hope that's more of your wonderful sarcasm, Kakarot." He replied with a slight air of anger.

"Sorta." Goku shrugged and turned to stare at the red head. "She looks easy."

"Good. I hadn't planned on taking longer then a couple minutes anyway. As a matter of fact..."Vegeta started scanning the club. "Is there a bathroom around here anywhere?"

"Ugh...you aren't thinking of...?"Goku let it hang and his partner raised an eyebrow.

"You said you don't want to be left alone with all the work." Vegeta hopped off the stool and zipped his jacket up to cover the gun on his hip. "I'll only be a sec." Goku watched in awe and admiration while his friend took a whole 2 minutes to convince the girl to follow him to the bathroom. As he watched the two disappear through the crowd, Goku had a moment of anger.

__

Wish I could do that to Chichi, he thought bitterly, downing the rest of his bud light.

* * *

"Hi honey! I've been calling and calling since early this morning and I was thinking of leaving you alone! I know, I know, you're a big successful business man now and I don't want to distract you from your work. How is it there? Launch asked about you-"

Tien instantly clicked it off. He was sitting in the hotel he had rented until he found a house. The hotel wasn't the best place to pick but Tien had found it first and didn't care to look around for another. From what he could tell, a lot of street thugs hung around it and not many middle aged men like him. He was listening to the messages on his cell phone. The only ones he had were those of his mother who could talk his ear off. He had been smiling through the whole message until she had mentioned Launch.

His expression looked almost remorseful, his gut clenched and he sighed, throwing the phone on the bed. He ran a hand over his face, feeling drained and tired.

__

Launch asked about you.

Tien felt a bit of joy about that. Launch had been his 6 year girlfriend. They had met in college and were planning on getting married. But the move had stopped it all. Launch couldn't leave her job to move with him and he sure as hell wasn't going to pass it up so in the end, they broke up.

__

Launch asked about you.

He didn't want to talk to her. It had been so dramatic and unnerving to cut off their planned wedding date. Tien felt his eyes burn.

__

Damn it! I know I'm not crying! I'm such a little punk.

His thoughts, however, did not stop the flow of tears. His earlier thoughts had been that Launch would find someone new and marry and he'd found someone else too but now, thinking back, he didn't want anybody else. He just wanted her. His cell phone rung but he didn't make an attempt to answer it.

"I need to get laid." He muttered, wiping the tears off his face. After a few more minutes of sitting alone in the quiet apartment building he curled up in his bed and went to sleep.

* * *


	5. Past Hurt and Intruders

* * *

**_Chapter Four._**

* * *

Krillin took another glance at his watch. He grimaced at the time and then slowly looked back up, tapping the wheel impatiently. An unending flow of traffic was before him, going painstakingly slow. Another look at his watch. _I have a client in 45 minutes...and I still have to get to Seventeen's house! _A heavy sigh emitted from the male and he sat back, closing his eyes. The cars weren't moving and he wasn't expecting to go anywhere for at least another 15 minutes.

"Here's the thanks I get for being such a pushover..."He muttered to himself, disappointed at himself. The words he had just recently stated were repeating in his mind. _Such a pushover..._Krillin shrugged it off and folded his arms. Before he knew it, he had dozed off to sleep.

--

_"Daddy!" Exclaimed the blond haired youth, tugging at her father's pants leg. "Daddy, I want that one! That toy!"_

_Her father smiled down at her and patted her head. "I thought your mom already told you that you couldn't have that toy." The girl pouted and stomped her foot._

_"Bu-But daddy! I really want it!! Pretty please!" She put on a puppy faced look and even attempted to whimper. Her dad sighed and grabbed the Barbie Doll off the shelf. His daughter's eyes lit up._

_"Krillin!"_

_Both daughter and father jumped at the sound and turned around. "M-mommy..."The blond haired girl smiled nervously. Her mother smirked and gave her husband a look._

_"She really wanted it dear! I just couldn't say no to that face Eighteen..."Krillin told her, frowning a bit. Eighteen smirked aagin and rolled her eyes._

_"You always were such a pushover..." Said his wife. Krillin looked down and laughed but when he looked back up, both his daughter and wife were gone._

_"Eighteen...Maron!?"Called the man, searching the store with a worried expression. Suddenly the air turned cold and the tile floor beneath him turned into a snow covered ground. _

_"Daddy look!" __Krillin turned around to see his daughter, beaming. "Look Daddy, I can do it!" Fear filled his face and tears came to his eyes. "Are you looking daddy?!"_

_"Maron! MARON! NO!" Krillin screamed, running forward, arm outstretched. "Stop honey! Don't do it!!" His daughter only smiled again and dodged out onto the ice. _

_As soon as she did it, she vanished. _

_--_

"NO! MARON, STOP!" His eyes snapped open and he was breathing heavily. He looked around at all the cars and lights and found himself confused for only a split second. He sighed again and leaned over, laying his head on the steering wheel. "It was just a dream..."He breathed, reassuring himself. "Nothing but a dream..." He grabbed his head and felt his eyes burn. "No, not a dream. A nightmare." Then he started to cry. His shoulders shook from his sobs and he kept his head on the steering wheel, wondering why he was so weak and regretting every decision in his life.

--

Bulma gave a heavy sigh and slouched back into the chair closest to her. She had arrived back at CC and had been bombarded with reporters, newspaper articles and much more. Her day had started out bad and now it was just getting worst. So, her and her father had spent the last hour repeating and repeating the same sentence: We cannot reveal any information.She ran a hand through her blue hair and turned to look at her father. "I thought the Q and A was tomorrow."

"It is, darling." He told her, informing the moving crew where to put the furniture in the main lobby.

"Then who were all those reporters today!?" She exclaimed.

"Just annoying little buggers that wanted information." He shot his daughter a smile. "Nothing to worry about dear." Bulma frowned and shrugged. Her bones ached, her head ached and she was tired beyond no other. Her father seemed to notice because he walked over to her and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Why don't you go and take a break, hmm? Get some rest and whatnot. I would advise you to sleep in the bedrooms of this building but they aren't furnished yet and sleeping on the floor is not something I'd allow you to do."

"Dad," Bulma sighed, rolling her eyes. "I'm perfectly fine." Dr.Briefs squeezed her shoulder.

"Please Bulma. Just do this one thing for me. Get some rest." He told her. Bulma looked up at him and they stared for a bit.

"Ok, ok." The woman said while standing. "If you want me to so bad, I will."

"Do you need funds for a hotel?" He asked, reaching into his wallet. Bulma grabbed his arm softly to stop him.

"Dad, I think I know somebody who would let me stay with them. If only for a night."She said, smiling for reassurance.

* * *

When Chichi unlocked the door to her home, she heard a ringing noise. The female was confused for a bit until she realized that it was the phone. She dropped her bags and quickly hurried to the item, picking it up a ring before it went to voice mail. "Hello, Chichi Prince here."

"Chichi?" The voice wasn't that familiar to her. Chichi rolled her eyes and deduced that it was one of Vegeta's little lady 'friends'.

"I'm sorry but Vegeta isn't here right now. You-"

"Vegeta? No, no, Chichi it's me. Bulma."

Chichi suddenly smiled widely. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I had forgotten that you had my house number and not my cell." She said with a blush.

"It's ok," Bulma chuckled. "you aren't busy are you?"

"Of course not!" Chichi said to her new found friend. "Did you need something?"

"Well..."Bulma drifted off. "I...see, this is a bit embarrassing."

"You can ask my anything, Bulma. What is it?" Chichi said, walking back to close and lock the front door.

"Well, I've neglected from finding an apartment beforehand and I have no idea where a hotel is so I'm wondering is maybe...I mean if you have room... I'm so sorry for asking this out of the blue but...It's just that-"

"Bulma wait." Chichi laughed. "If you need a place to stay, you're more then welcome to stay with me."

"Really?" Bulma smiled over the line. "I just didn't want to impose. And It'll only be for a night." Normally, she would have contacted Eighteen but the blond haired woman wasn't answering her cell phone.

"Stay as long as you like." Chichi told her.

* * *

Goku glanced up at the sky in thought, noticing how the sky was darkening. Him and Vegeta had just exited the police station after be let off duty for the day.

"You heading home?" Goku asked his partner who was already getting into his vehicle.

"I'm tired and I'm hungry, Kakarot. Of course I'm going home." Vegeta replied. Goku got into the passenger seat.

"I was thinking we could stop by Yamcha's crib and see Gohan."

Vegeta rolled her eyes. "What is it with you and that brat?"

"He's a nice kid! Strong and stubborn. Like you." Goku said, smirking a bit. Vegeta shot the wild haired male a look before backing out of the lot and heading onto the street.

"That little kid is nothing like me."

"Whatever. But you have to admit, he's pretty cool."

"Yeah, yeah." The widowed peaked man took a turn and headed towards Yamcha's apartment building. Goku looked up when a phone started ringing. He soon realized it was his, pulled it out and clicked it open.

"Hello?"

"Goku?" It was Seventeen. "Goku, I don't have time to chit chat so here's the deal. I left Pip at home alone and I need somebody to go over there and feed her. I called Krillin and he said he'll go but now he's stuck in traffic! So, now I'm asking you." He said all of this in less then 2 minutes.

"Uh..."Goku glanced at Vegeta and nodded. "Yea, sure. I can do that Seventeen. Me and Vegeta will head there right away." This got Vegeta's attention.

"Head where?" He asked with a frown. Goku clicked off and pocketed his phone. "Kakarot, we're a block away from Yamcha's apartment! Where do we gotta go now?"

"Seventeen's house. Pip is all alone and she needs to be fed." He replied.

Vegeta growled. "We're going to feed some chickenshit dog?"

"Come on! Pip is like family. Besides, we can't let her starve." Goku argued. Vegeta sighed and turned his attention back to the road when the light turned green. His eyes traveled to something on the sidewalk.

"Hey Kakarot," Vegeta said, while pointing. "the brat?" Goku turned his head and sure enough he saw Gohan fighting with two other boys who looked about 10 years older then him. Vegeta pulled into the driveway of an unknown house and they both got out, jogging to the scene.

Gohan was receiving a punch when they got there.

"Come on!" One of the boys laughed. "You can do better then that, trash!" Gohan wiped blood off his mouth and shot forward, only to be held back by two strong arms. "What the-"

Vegeta was standing, one hand on his hip and the other twirling a gun while Goku had Gohan restrained. "What's going on here boys?" Goku asked. The two older teens took one glance at Vegeta's gun and took off running, making the widowed peak male curse. "Don't go after them, Vegeta. We'll get them later." Vegeta grudgingly crossed his arms and didn't move. "Now you," Goku said while looking down at the boy in his arms. "are you alright?"

Gohan shrugged indifferently. "I didn't need you guys to help me."

"Like Hell, you did." Vegeta said while walking back to his vehicle. "Lets go Kakarot. Bring the little brat if you want to. We got things to do."

"Are you guys gonna go shoot people?!" Gohan exclaimed with a smile.

"Not exactly. What are you doing so far away from the apartment anyw-"

"I said move you asses!" Vegeta yelled, interrupting Goku. "Ask questions in the car."

--

Vegeta, Goku and Gohan arrived at Seventeen's home the exact same time Krillin did.

"We thought you were in a traffic jam." Goku said when they all exited from their vehicles.

"I got out of it faster then I thought I would." The shorter male said, smiling a bit. Goku noticed that his eyes looked unnormally red but didn't comment on it.

"Ugh," Vegeta groaned. "I could be at home eating and sleeping right now but instead I'm stuck with you idiots."

"If I knew that Seventeen had called you guys then there was no point in me coming! I'm late for my client." Krillin said with a sigh. Gohan was the only one who had noticed the third car.

"Uh...guys?" Said the teen boy, getting a glance from all the males. "Is somebody else here to?" He pointed to the busted car that had been parked here first. Vegeta took this time to shoot the house a look and he noticed that the lights were on inside.

"Maybe Seventeen called somebody else?" Krillin offered

"The only other person he mentioned calling was you." Goku said, recalling the phone call. "Who else was there to call?"

"Don't jump to conclusions now. What about Yamcha?"Krillin stated, staring at the unknown vehicle.

"He's at home sick. Not answering his phone." Gohan put in.

"Besides, which one of our friends has a car like that?" Goku questioned, kicking the bumper causing it to fall off.

"Whoever that car belongs to was uninvited." Vegeta stated. He took out his gun out of pure habit.

"Cool! Are you gonna shoot somebody!!" Gohan exclaimed.

"Shhhhhhhhhh!!" All three men scolded.

"We dont want the intruder to hear us." Goku whispered to Gohan.

"Oh..."Gohan said sadly, putting his head down. "I'm sorry."

"I'll go in and take care of him. Kakarot and Krillin, you stay out here with the brat." Vegeta ordered.

"No, I'm going in too." Krillin said. "I gotta make sure Pip is okay."

"Fine, whatever. Me and Krillin will go in then." Vegeta nodded at Goku and Gohan. "You two stay out here."

"But I wanna go in too!"Gohan objected. Goku grabbed his shoulder tight.

"Alright, you two go in and me and Gohan will stay outside."Goku agreed, ignoring the look of confusion on Gohan's face.

"Call for help if we aren't out in 30 minutes." Krillin said suddenly, just now realizing that he was going into a dangerous situation by choice. Risking his life for a dog.

"Krillin, if you want I can go in and get Pip." Goku said seriously. "There could be more then one person in that house. You gotta think of all the possibilities. It's dangerous."

"I'll be fine, Goku. Thanks." Krillin assured, waving it off as nothing.

"Will you two shut up!? Now, hurry up baldy. Normally, they'd have my badge for letting a civilian go along for something like this but you're with me. Stay CLOSE to me at all times and listen to EVERYTHING I tell you." Vegeta said, starting into the house, gun ready. Krillin swallowed but followed after.

Goku and Gohan watched them disappear through the backdoor.

* * *


	6. OOPS!

* * *

**_Chapter Five._**

* * *

Vegeta was the first one to step into the house, silent, gun drawn, alert and ready followed closely by Krillin, who was looking around, nervously, sweat popping out on his forehead. They recognized the room they were in to be the kitchen. Clean, white and unused. Just like Seventeen. Except there was a lone pizza box laying on the counter top. Krillin and Vegeta exchanged glances, each thinking different thoughts, and continued slowly through the kitchen, heading towards the living room. Vegeta poked his head through the arc that separated the kitchen from the living room and searched the area.

"I don't see or hear anybody." Vegeta stated, more to himself then Krillin. The widow peaked male commenced to checking all the downstairs rooms and found nothing.

"Well?" Krillin asked when Vegeta returned from his investigation, walking into the living room with his gun hanging at his side. Vegeta shrugged.

"I didn't find anybody."

Both males jumped when they heard a sudden sound. It took them a minute to realize that it was coming from upstairs. Vegeta glanced at Krillin who was just staring up.

"It sounds like running water." Krillin stated after a moment. Vegeta raised his gun again and started towards the staircase. Krillin blinked and followed, tiptoeing his way over. They climbed the stairs painstakingly slow, making sure they didn't cause it to creak. Now upstairs, they stood still. Listening to the sound, trying to find its origin. They creeped down the hall and Krillin noticed light from beneath a closed door. "Vegeta." He pointed at the door. Vegeta stared and proceeded over to it, siding up next to the door with Krillin on the other side. The sound of water running increased.

Vegeta chuckled and cocked his gun. "Whoever is in there," he said, wrapping his hand around the knob. "is taking a shower."

"Wait a minute!" Krillin said in a hushed tone. "We're just gonna bust in there!? While this guy is probably naked!?"

"Yes." Vegeta replied simply.

"Won't that be a bit embarrassing!?"Krillin whispered, giving Vegeta a shocked look. Vegeta rolled his eyes, ignored the man and thrust the door open. "Vege-!" A hand came over Krillin's mouth. Vegeta put one finger over his mouth, signaling silence from the shorter male. The door was wide open now and the two men finally took the time to turn to see inside. The room was hot, steam circling around, coming from the shower which had its curtain drawn closed. A figure was outlined behind it like a shadow. Clothes were thrown around the room and a bag was sitting on the toilet. Vegeta started inside slowly, gun still drawn, being careful to step over the articles of clothing but not paying much attention to how they looked.

Krillin's eyes widened but he followed after, thinking to himself that this was a bad idea. Vegeta was at the curtain now and he was reaching slowly for the edge. Krillin shrieked silently and grabbed Vegeta's shoulder, pulling him down to whisper in his ear.

"What are you doing!?" He whispered angrily.

"Trying to do my job. Get off me." Vegeta said back with a growl.

"You CANNOT invade that person's privacy like that!"Krillin stated. Even before he said it, he knew it sounded absurd but he had to try. Krilling was just that type of man, considering everyone's feelings before his own.

"What!? The guy broke into Seventeen's house, ordered a pizza and now he's taking a muthafucking shower. How much privacy did he invade?" Vegeta countered, eyes on the figure who didn't seem to have any idea they were there.

"But-" Krillin was cut off by Vegeta breaking from his hold. "Vegeta!"

The widow peaked police officer grabbed the edge of the curtain and snatched it back, pointing his gun with his other arm."Free-" He stopped when he recognized the figure. Time seemed to stop.

"Eighteen?" Krillin blinked, astonished. A rush hit his heart like a train. How long had it been since he last saw her? God, too long.

"What?" Eighteen turned and her eyes widened. "Krillin!?" She started to become lost in his dark eyes, totally overlooking the current situation. Memories rushed into her mind like lava flowing from a volcano. It had been so long since she'd last seen his small chubby-like face.

"You...you look beautiful." He found himself saying with a smile, not able to stop himself. Eighteen blushed at the compliment. They stood silent for a moment, both staring into eachother's eyes, completing ignoring everything else. Vegeta was reduced to being left dumbstruck, still pointing his gun at the woman, staring at her with unblinking eyes, frozen in shock, knowing he should leave but unable to move.

It was she who snapped back to reality. Suddenly, she blinked and looked down at herself. Her face turned bright red. Both Krillin and Vegeta stepped back and winced when she let out a scream.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TWO DOING HERE!" Eighteen screamed angrily, hands balling into fist, face turning even redder, now having her emotions take over. Embarrassment at the situation. Mad at them for busting in like this. Nervous that her ex-husband was here. She turned to Vegeta with murder in her eyes. "DON'T POINT THAT FUCKING GUN AT ME!"

"Eighteen...We...I...He-" Krillin stuttered, confused, now realizing that he was just was embarrassed as she was. It had been so long since he'd last seen his ex-wife and seeing her naked and with Vegeta standing beside him made him feel strongly uncomfortable. He wasn't paticulary uncomfortable with Eighteen's nudity, he loved her body and her curves, but knowing that his friend now knew how she looked in her birthday suit made him angry and awkward.

Vegeta had slowly lowered the gun when she had screamed at him. Cautiously he had put it back in its hostler, worrying that if he did Eighteen would attack.

Eighteen covered herself as best she could and pointed to the door.

"**OUT NOW!!"**

They took no time hurrying out the door in a clumsy.

* * *


	7. More Surprises

* * *

**_Chapter Six._**

* * *

"Hahahaha!!" Goku laughed loudly, clutching his stomach and doubling over. "Wait no!Ahahaah...tell me again how it happened!!"

Vegeta growled and smacked him on the head which shut him up considerably. Krillin was blushing and looking away, too many thoughts on his mind. After the little "incident", Vegeta and him had went outside to explain to Goku and Gohan that the alleged "intruder" had been none other then Eighteen. Since Gohan didn't know her they had to explain that Eighteen was his twin sister who had moved away almost 8 years ago. Goku, to say the least, was both surprised and happy. They all hadn't seen or spoke to her in so long and he was excited to see how she was doing.

The part about them finding her in the shower though made him laugh.

And laugh and laugh and laugh.

"Ow..."Goku said rubbing his head. "That hurt." Vegeta sent him a look and Goku frowned. The 4 males were all crowded into Seventeen's living room. Goku and Gohan were seated on the couch, Vegeta was leaning against the wall and Krillin was pacing the floor. Emotions had came back to him like a bomb exploding. Eighteen in her youth. Eighteen when they got married. Eighteen when they got divorced. Bad memories swarmed over the good ones and Krillin was left with nothing but sadness and pain.

"Krillin?"Gohan spoke up, watching the man hurry back and forth before them. "You OK?" Krillin turned and all eyes were now on him. He smiled and nodded.

"I'm fine Gohan, thanks." He replied. Goku and Vegeta exchanged a look, thinking that Krillin was anything but fine. Gohan was the only one who knew nothing about Krillin and Eighteen's marriage. He didn't even know that they had been involved at all. It was a thing that Krillin had always decided to keep from him but in doing so, they had neglected to tell him about Eighteen at all.

"How come I'm just finding out about Seventeen having a twin?"Gohan asked, eyes slightly narrowed. Goku looked at him and patted his head but before he could answer, Eighteen appeared.

She was taller then before, Goku noticed and light bags had been forming under her eyes. She has borrowed one of Seventeen's large white T-shirts and a pair of his sweats. Her hair was hanging down to her shoulders, blond and wet and she had no makeup on and no shoes, showing off her painted toenails. A slight smile was on her face and Goku thought she looked younger then she had before.

Krillin was taken aback. Even in the attire she wore, she still looked radiant to him. He smiled instantly, not being able to contain his joy. Vegeta simply stared, a smirk plastered on his features. He hadn't seen her in a long time too, minus the bathroom thing, and even though they weren't the best of friends he had always liked her spunk. The flame haired man must admit, it was good seeing her again.

_Clothed, _He thought amusingly after wards.

Goku was the first to make a move. He zoomed over and gave her one of his biggest bear hugs. "Eighteen!!"He cried, twisting her around in his arms. "It seems like i havent saw you in decades!!" Eighteen laughed and tried to pat his back.

"Goku," She strained out. " can't breathe...Goku..."

Vegeta saw that he wasn't letting up so he stepped up and hit his partner on his head again.

"Ow!"Goku whined, letting the blond haired woman go and rubbing his head. "What was that for!?" Vegeta motioned to Eighteen who was taking large gulps of air and Goku laughed nervously. "Ooops...sorry about that."

"No problem."She smiled. "I missed you too, Goku." Goku beamed, couldn't help himself, and wrapped her in another hug until Vegeta flung him back into his seat. Eighteen laughed again and glanced at the widowed peak male. "Hey Vegeta."

Vegeta gave her a little smile and stuck out his hand. "Nice to see you again...with all your clothes on."He added the last part with a smirk and Eighteen rolled her eyes.

"Next time knock." She said back, shaking his hand. She paused momentarily and stepped closer to him and gave him a little peck on the cheek. "I missed you too." Vegeta nodded and stepped back. Eighteen turned her blue eyes to the shorter male behind Goku, trying her best to ignore Krillin who wasn't making a move to speak to her at all. His eyes were downcast and he was in the corner, probably embarrassed and confused about what to say. "And who's that little guy?"

Gohan stepped up and cocked his head to the side. "Gohan here, at you service." Eighteen smiled and gave the boy a hand shake.

"He lives in Yamcha's apartment."Goku said by a way of explanation. "We met him when he was fighting a group of boys. He's hard headed but a tough little kid. Couldn't get rid of him after that." Gohan gave Goku a frown and Goku rubbed his head lightly with a smile. Then something must of dawned on him and he turned to Eighteen. "Oh yeah! We have to call everybody over! Do they know you're already here? By the way, why are you here? Not that I'm complaining we all missed you. Man, its been so long. Everybody is gonna freak. We have to have a welcome back party for you or something. Seventeen must not know because he called us over here to watch Pip! Man-"

"Goku!"Eighteen laughed, holding up her hands. "No, I haven't told anybody that I'm here again. It was kinda a spur of the moment type of thing. But you guys can't tell anybody yet OK?! I was going to wait here for Seventeen and surprise him and then have him call everybody tomorrow because it's late and I'm tired. Don't get me wrong, I wanna see everybody too. I've missed you guys so much but not right now OK?"

Goku slightly pouted but nodded. "I understand. But you have to call us tomorrow, first thing in the morning. So you're staying here or visiting?"

"I'll explain all of that tomorrow."She told him, glancing over at Krillin who was avoiding all eye contact with her and shuffling his feet.

"Fine." Goku's expression portrayed sadness. He obviously wanted everyone else to know the good news. Eighteen stepped over to him and hugged him gently.

"Come on Goku, don't get mad. You'll see me tomorrow, first thing in the morning ok?"

"Yeah, stop whining and lets go."Vegeta said to the male. "I should have been home hours ago. I'm tired and hungry." The flame haired man gave one last nod to Eighteen and walked out with Gohan following after, yelling a "goodbye" to Eighteen. Krillin had neglected to speak up the whole time and now he inched himself closer to her.

"Nice to see you again Eighteen, bye." That said, the short male hurried out. Eighteen would have been lying if she had said she wasn't disappointed by his actions. She had sincerely missed Krillin, more then he probably knew yet he had treated her like a stranger and ran out without so much as a handshake. Goku noticed the look on Eighteen's face.

"Don't be mad at him, Eighteen." Goku told her before standing up and putting a hand on her shoulder. "He just dosen't know how to react, ya know? I bet he's hurting more then ever." Because he had nothing else to say, Goku left also waving as he went.

Eighteen sighed and slumped down on to the couch. She hadn't expected to see Krillin so soon and their meeting was abnormal. She had actually planned to avoid him as much as possible but now that she had saw him again, he was the only thing on her mind. He looked more mature and he had grown his hair out which made him look ruggedly handsome.

_Looked much better then he use to, _She thought. Her thoughts were suddenly succumbed by another person. A little girl, blond haired with pig tails, around 5 years old with a smile on her face.

_Mommy! Mommy! Watch me!_

"Maron, no!"

Eighteen suddenly jerked around. She swirled her head around every which way. Tears filled her eyes and she wiped her blue eyes furiously. She breathed out and got to her feet and padded upstairs, forcing herself to think of nothing else but her brother and how he'd react to her.

* * *

After dropping Gohan off at his apartment and making sure that he got in safe, the two police officers arrived at Vegeta's apartment he shared with his sister. After a 3 minute debate, they had decided to just head there and Goku could spend the night with them because his house was on the far side of the city.

"You think Chi is gonna care if I spend the night?"Goku asked, walking up behind Vegeta who was searching through his key ring. Vegeta simply waved it off and opened the door.

"Why would she? Besides it's almost three in the morning, she's probably sleep." Vegeta said walking inside, tossing his keys on the table. Goku followed after him, closing and locking the door. "Don't turn on the light." Vegeta whispered. "If she gets up, she'll bitch at us both." That said, the male dragged himself to his room, shooting Goku a peace sign before he disappeared inside. Goku grabbed some sheets out of the closet and slumped onto the large couch in the living room, curled up in the covers and instantly fell asleep.

Vegeta slid out of his shirt, tossing it on the floor with the rest of his clothes, and changed his pants for boxers. He stretched a bit and felt around the room for his bed. He dumped himself in the bed and pulled the covers over himself. He expected to dose asleep peacefully and sleep until about eleven.

What he didn't expect was to discover a woman in his bed.

Well, not one _tonight_ that is.

The lights came on and Vegeta blinked in confusion. He turned to his left and saw a head of blue hair rise up. Her blue eyes met his black eyes for only a second before she screamed.

The scream was loud and piercing and Vegeta fell off the side of the bed in surprise. He held both hands over his ears. "SHUT UP!" He yelled angrily over her. The woman continued to scream and scream and back away to the wall. Vegeta noticed then that she was pretty as hell. Her hair, although disheveled, was long and blue. She was wearing a short but tight nightgown that showed off her legs. _Sexy legs, _Vegeta thought absently.

The door to Vegeta's bedroom burst open and the lights cut on. Goku was first in with a baseball bat and Chichi was after him, eyes wide in worry. The woman screamed even louder at the sight of Goku but she stopped when she spotted Chichi.

"Bulma! Bulma!"Chichi said, running to her side. Vegeta and Goku watched her comfort the blue haired woman and exchanged confused glances.

"Ok..."Vegeta said, taking his hands off his ears. "What the fuck is going on here?"

Chichi turned to her brother. "This is my friend Bulma. I met her today at the coffee shop. She just moved here and didnt have a place to stay so I let her stay here."

"In my bed!?"Vegeta asked angrily.

"Well, "Chichi shrugged. "I thought you wasn't coming home tonight. You usually spend the night over some girl's house when you're out after one."

Goku, who still had the baseball bat ready, blinked. "Wow, she sure has a pair of lungs." Everybody turned to him.

"Put that baseball bat down!"Chichi and Vegeta both yelled. He quickly did as told, blushing. Bulma had calmed down considerably and wasn't talking but she stayed close by Chichi's side, looking at the other two males with wary. The one with the baseball bat didn't look harmful but he was tall and had hair that stood out in different directions. He was blushing now and looked almost childlike. The other one was still on the floor, hair starting from his widow's peak and raising up in a flame. His eyebrows were think and he looked pissed.

"If I'm intruding I could just go. It-"Bulma started.

"No!" Chichi instantly interrupted. "Vegeta can just sleep on the living room floor."

"I can WHAT!?"He asked angrily. Chichi gave him a glare.

"Goku can sleep on the couch and Vegeta on the floor." She said again, more forcefully. Vegeta was going to object but then stopped. He was exhausted and just wanted to go to bed.

"Whatever."He said getting to his feet. He stumped out of the room, pushing past Goku. Chichi smiled.

"That's my brother, Vegeta." She told Bulma. "He tries to act tough but he's a big softy inside." Bulma wasn't sure if he was even capable of being a "softy". Chichi motioned to wards the taller male. "And that is Goku. He's a close friend to me and my brother." Goku did a little bow, waved the bat and walked out. "He's a softy on the inside and out."

Bulma nodded and Chichi asked if she would be okay. "Yeah sure, I'm fine now. Thanks Chichi." The black haired woman patted her on the shoulder and left. Bulma crawled into the bed and tried to fall back to sleep.

* * *

Seventeen was so tired and frustrated when he walked into his home that he didn't even realize the lights were already on. He continued through the kitchen, laying his keys and the two bags of groceries on the counter, continuing on. He froze when he made it to the living room, staring at the person sitting on his couch. Blond hair, blue eyes, dressed in his clothes, smiling.

"Eighteen...?"He said quietly. She stood up and held out her arms. He felt tears roll down his face, walked over to her and gave her a tight hug. "Eighteen, it's really you? I'm not hallucinating am I?"

"It's me Seventeen." She laughed, tears falling from her own eyes.

"What are you doing here!?" He asked after they had pulled away four minutes later.

Eighteen sighed. "It's a long story."

Seventeen checked his watch and shook his head. "Tell me in the morning then. I'm tired and you look like you are too."

"More then ever." She nodded. Seventeen just stared at her for a minute.

"Eighteen, I missed you." He finally said. "I still don't know why you left and didn't give me any number to contact." More tears fell from his dark eyes. Eighteen turned away and when she looked back she was smiling.

"Seventeen...it wasn't you. I just wanted to get away from memories and..."The woman just left it there. Her brother could only nod. "But I've missed you too and I'm sorry it took me eight years to come and tell you that."

* * *

Bulma woke up at 7 minutes to eight. She had always been an early riser even if she went to sleep late. When she first awoke, she panicked, unsure of where she was but then she calmed and remembered that Chichi had let her stay with her.

_With her brother and his friend._

Vegeta and Goku, had been there names.

The blue haired woman stretched and then got to her feet, smoothing out her hair. She looked around and located her bag. _I'll just change and leave. _Then later say she had business. After all, the big Q and A was today but not until much later. She just felt uncomfortable here. She had always hated spending the night over people's homes but it seemed crowded here.

_Way too crowded._

Bulma quickly switched into short shorts and a tank top because it was the only thing she had packed in quick notice. Later, she'd switch into a suit for the big session. She wrapped the strap of the bag around her shoulders and left the bedroom and entered the living room. The tall man was slung out over the couch, mouth open but emitting no words or sounds. Sheets on him, tangled and messy. There were more sheets but they were positioned on the floor. Rumpled from sleep. She also noticed too late that nobody was on them.

"You like my room and my bed?"

Bulma jumped in fright and spun left to see Chichi's brother in the kitchen, which was a small cubicle behind the living room. He was leaning over the counter with a cup of what looked like orange juice in his hand. He didn't look like he got much sleep and he had no clothes on except a pair of boxers. The room felt like it was above 90 degrees but Bulma broke out in a cold sweat. Last night she hadn't noticed how handsome he was. His jaw was hard and his eyes were dark and piercing.

_His body wasn't too bad either, _She thought absently.

"Uh...it was...comfy." She stuttered out in reply to his question. His eyes drifted down to her bag.

"Leaving so soon?"He asked in monotone. She looked at him confused but then got what he meant.

"Well...uh, I have a meeting today. Very important." She waved it off. "Tell your sister that I had to go but she can call me later and maybe we could get together again."

"You_ like_ hanging out with my sister?"Vegeta asked with a laugh.

"She's very kind."Bulma said, almost defensively, with a frown. "And smart. I heard she's majoring to be a lawyer."

Vegeta simply shrugged. "Knowing her, she'll change her mind. She's not a very...committed girl."She noticed that he chose his words carefully. Bulma glanced at the Goku who was still sound asleep. She was afraid of waking him up and wanted to go now.

"Oh really? Well, I hope she makes it. Now, I don't want to be late so I'll be going."

"Where do you work?"He suddenly asked. Bulma silently growled. She was growing impatient but she didn't let her voice portray that.

"Capsule Corporation. My father was the founder and I'm CO."She told him and by the expression on his face she realized he had no idea what that was. "You've never heard of Capsule Corp?"

Vegeta shrugged. "Some political factory? Not my kind of thing to learn about." Bulma didn't know why but she was offended.

"We create almost everything. Our faculty has some of the smartest scientist in the world. We're inventors."

He sent her a bored look. "I'm sure its fun there." Sarcasm.

"So where do you work?" She countered back with narrowed eyebrows. He gulped down his juice and set it on the table. He reached in his pocket, took out something and laid on the table. Bulma walked over to get a better look and saw that it was a badge. "You're a police officer?" She asked in surprise.

"Hard to believe?"

"Uh..no, it's just that..." She paused and shook her head as if to say "never mind". "Have you ever been shot? Hurt?" She was suddenly curious. She had actually, never known a real officer before.

"I thought you had to go..." Vegeta replied. Bulma bristled. So now he was telling her to go? Just before he had been asking her questions!

"So now you can ask questions about my life but I can't ask about yours?" She didn't know it but her voice held anger. He sent her a smirk and she blushed slightly.

"I tend to want to know about random woman who sleep in my bed. See now, if you were a stripper, which by looking at you wouldn't be too surprising, I'd know to get a new bed. No telling what viruses and STDs you had." He stated. Bulma's mouth opened and her eyes narrowed. She growled and started out of the apartment. "Come back soon now!" He called, laughing. Bulma growled and walked out, ignoring the arrogant man. She had better things to do. Like figure out how to ditch this Q and A.

Vegeta watched her close the door and his smirk slowly faded. He had made that comment purely to see what she'd do. He was slightly disappointed when she walked out. He was expecting her to scream and bash his face in. He smirked again. The woman had been beautiful and he sensed she had some spunk. Something he'd have to look into later because for some reason, he knew he'd see her again.

* * *


	8. The Bet!

* * *

**_Chapter Seven._**

* * *

Goku awoke to something being thrown in his face. He groaned and opened his eyes to see a pillow laying on his head. He was just about to close them again until he felt a hand slap his shoulder.

"Get up, Goku!" The voice was feminine and, at the moment, unfamiliar. "Goku! Goku, get up! You're gonna be late for work!"

Goku groaned again and tried to roll over and drown out the voice. Work? What was she talking about? It was Saturday and he was off duty. "I'm off duty Leave me alone." He muttered from underneath the pillow. The woman obviously hadn't heard him because she continued to shake him. "I said, GO AWAY!" He screamed angrily, pulling the pillow off his head and sitting up to glare at the lady. He instantly shrunk back when he recognized who she was and started blushing.

Chichi put hands on hips, glaring as evilly as her brother did. Her eyebrow was twitching and she looked highly annoyed. Goku scratched his head and laughed nervously, recalling that he had spent the night over Vegeta's. He wasn't accustomed to having some one force him awake and he certainly wasn't use to a woman being there when he woke.

Especially not Chichi, the woman for who he secretly loved.

"I let you sleep in my house and you repay me by yelling at me when I try to get you up for work?" There was a hint of anger in her tone but she was smirking, obviously joking.

"I'm sorry Chi. You know I didn't mean it." Goku swung his legs over the side of the couch. "But me and Vegeta don't have to go in today. We're off duty."

"Hmm?"Chichi's eyes widened a bit, looking taken aback. "You don't? Well, silly me, it is Saturday isn't it? I was so wrapped up in my studies, I wasn't even keeping track of the day."She laughed and Goku grinned, finding it contagious. He couldn't remember exactly when he had fallen for the girl, maybe it was when Vegeta first introduced them back when they were kids, but he was sure that he _had_ fallen and _hard_.

So why hadn't he told her yet? Why hadn't he confessed this undying love he claimed to have towards her? Was it because he was afraid? What if she denied him? What if she didn't feel the same way? Goku couldn't even imagine what he would do if Chichi were to do that. How would he face her again? Would he even be able to? And what about Vegeta?

So many things had prevented him from tell her, he had just given up hope and tried to make the feelings disappear.

That had been 6 years and 2 months ago. And, much to his dismay his feelings had betrayed him. Instead of his love for her fading, it had increased with each passing day and it was eating at him horribly.

"I'm going to go check on Bulma." That said, Chichi padded down the hall, towards her brother's room. That was when Goku looked down at the floor and noticed that Vegeta was there. His wrinkled his brow and stood up, stretching, wondering where he could have gone.

"Bulma?" Chichi knocked on the door and pushed it open gently. She groped around the dark room and clicked on the light switch. "Bulma, you up?"

"Getoutofmyroomnow." Said a mumbled voice from under the sheets. Chichi narrowed her eyebrows and approached the bed.

"What?" She asked. "I didn't hear you."

"I said, get out of my ROOM!" Vegeta exclaimed angrily, sitting up and shooting his sister a glare that could have frozen a tiger. Chichi frowned instantly and balled her hands into fist.

"Vegeta," She growled angrily through clenched teeth. "You BETTER not have Bulma next to you in that bed!" She started pulling up the covers and looking under the bed for any sign of her.

"What!? Chi, I have better things to do then fuck your friends. Although, I wouldn't mind hitting that, I didn't. Now, leave me be." Vegeta slumped back into the covers only to have his sister pull them off of him.

"Vegeta, where is Bulma!?" She demanded angrily, hands on hips. This was the second time she had been yelled at this morning and she was fed up. She was also very concerned. Where had the blue haired woman gone? Vegeta glanced at the clock.

"Don't you have school?" He asked in a heavy sigh, trying to get her away from him.

"Where. Is. My. Friend." Chichi drawled. Vegeta shrugged and yawned.

"She left early this morning. Around 8 or so. Told me to tell you that she had an important meeting to go to or some shit. Said call her later on." With that said, Vegeta snatched the covers back and rolled up in them.

"Oh." Chichi's expression instantly turned happy and she smiled. "Well good. She works at Capsule Corporation, ya know. Probably has some sort of big...what do you call them? Questions and Answers."

"Q and A." Vegeta muttered.

"I hope she's feeling okay. Did she eat before she left?"

"NO!"

"Did she get all her stuff? Was she-"

"Would you go away!?" Vegeta bellowed.

"Did I tell you she works a Capsule Corporation? It's a highly respected establishment." Chichi continued on, as if oblivious to her brother's anger.

"Yes! I know, some big fancy place where she has the top scientists or some shit. She told me already. Now GO!" The widowed peak male was growing impatient. It was 10:30 in the morning, for crying out loud, and he was off duty. He wanted some peace and quiet to get some shut eye and his sister wasn't helping along those lines.

"So, did you two talk a lot this morning?" Chichi wouldn't let up. "You guys got along?"

Vegeta smirked, recalling their meeting earlier.

_No telling what viruses and STD's you had._

He remembered the way her pretty little face scrunched up into a frown after he had made the statement. Her face had been turning red and her lips were puffed out. Believe it or not, it had turned Vegeta on to see her mad. Yeah, he didn't know the lady, but she was beautiful, no doubt about that and there was nothing sexier then when beautiful ladies blew up.

Except she hadn't blown up, had she? She had simply walked out. That had disappointed Vegeta greatly. He had expected a verbal fight. It might have sounded crazy to want something so childish but it was true. The thick eyebrowed male had wanted her to lash out at him.

"We got along just great." Vegeta said, his back to Chichi so she wouldn't see his big smirk.

"Good! Because we're gonna be spending a lot of time together. She's a real classy lady." Chichi started to leave the room but stopped at the door, spinning around slowly. "Oh and Vegeta, can I ask you for one small favor?" She had on her innocent face. The one she did every time she asked Vegeta to do something.

"What?"

Chichi's face hardened and her eyes narrowed. "DON'T sleep with HER!" That said, she left the room. Vegeta scowled, a little offended by her statement. It wasn't like he slept with everything with a pussy...was it?

* * *

Eighteen was brushing her long blond hair in the mirror of her brother's bathroom. Her mind was racing with thoughts. Bulma had called around 6 times yesterday but Eighteen had turned her cell phone off, she was now mentally chiding herself on that decision. The Big Q and A at the CC was today and, as much as she didn't want to disappoint Bulma or her father, she really didn't want to go. Besides that, she had to reveal herself to her friends that didn't know she had returned.

And Krillin.

Her ex-husband had been heavy on her mind since she had seen him last, naked, in the shower. She had neglected from telling her brother about the incident, since Vegeta had been there also. Why he was implanted her mind was beyond her! It seemed like the last thing she should be worrying about. Yet, wherever she was, whatever she was doing, he popped up. Reeling all the pain and loss back into her system as well.

She squealed suddenly and looked at her cheek, seeing a small red pimple on it. "Oh no!!" She had never had a blemish! She pulled her skin with two fingers to see it better and whined. Stress just wasn't good on the body.

Seventeen was sitting on the sofa, when she arrived downstairs, patting Pip as she barked and yelped. He fed her a doggy biscuit and that was it, Pip went off to explore the house. Eighteen smiled at her brother who returned the grin.

"Hey, you're finally up." Was what he said, standing up. Eighteen saw that he was decked out in a white button up shirt and camouflage cargo shorts. His hair was down his back, messy and uncombed, and his skin was blemish free. My god, it had been so long since she had seen him she had forgotten how handsome he had been.

"Yeah. I thought it was about time I rolled out of bed." She yawned and rubbed at her eye. She was in dark blue tights and a baggy hoodie of Seventeen's. Her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail and she had put a bandage over her pimple.

"So, you want you got up for today?" He asked casually.

"A million things." She muttered. Pip came bouncing back into the room and rubbed against her leg. "I have to get dressed, get to Capsule Corporation, answer Questions for nosy reporters, probably escort a few important people around, guide the moving men through the building, fix-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Seventeen interupted with a laugh. "You sound like superwoman! I'm surprised you can still walk at all."

"And I need to do this all before One O'clock so-"

"Eighteen, "His twin said softly, causing her to stop and look at him. "Chill out for a second OK? I just got you back, I'm not ready to lose you to your job. It's Saturday, don't you have the day off?"

"I've told you this before."Eighteen sighed, rubbing the back of Pip's ear. "We just moved down here. They're gonna need all the help they can get. I can't bail on them, Seventeen."

"So you're gonna bail on me?" He asked sarcastically.

Eighteen sighed heavier. "Don't do this Seventeen." Much to her surprise, he pulled her towards him and wrapped her in a hug. He held her tight and she clung to him, suddenly feeling weak. His brotherly hug made her feel secured and protected. It was then that she realized how lonely and vulnerable she had felt through the whole move. Thank god her brother was here now. "Hey? Seventeen?"

"Yeah?" He asked softly, not letting up his hold on her, like she could melt away any second.

"I need you to do something for me."Her twin looked down at her, eyebrows furrowed and she grinned. "Could you call everyone and get them over here?"

* * *

Piccolo sat in the kitchen area of Seventeen's home, gulping down beer in solitude. Seventeen's house was filled with the friends he had mentioned to him earlier on. They had called some kind of "party" to celebrate the return of his sister, Eighteen. Piccolo, Seventeen stated, had been invited because he had wanted him to meet her and the rest of his friends. Besides that, Piccolo didn't have much else to do beside sit at home and watch TV. Him and Seventeen didn't have to be at court until 9am tomorrow morning.

It had taken him almost all day but Piccolo thought he had all the names of Seventeen's friends straight.

His twin sister, was named Eighteen. Not too hard to remember and obvious. The short one was Krillin. He was a rather shy man to Piccolo, or so he acted. The loud one with black hair had been Chichi and her brother was a fire haired male with a constant frown, Vegeta. There was a tall, goofy man named Goku. A long haired, dark haired man who looked forever drunk: Yamcha. And there was a little kid, around 9 or so, with messy black hair and beat up clothes. Nobody elaborated on who's child it was and Piccolo didn't ask.

"Hey Pic, you Okay?"

Piccolo knew who it was without turning around. Only one person called him "Pic."

"Yeah Seventeen, I'm fine." He replied back in his husky voice.

"You sure?" Seventeen slid into a seat next to his boss and grinned. "Why you in here, in the dark, all alone?"

"Just came to get a drink." He replied with a indifferent shrug. Seventeen nodded, understanding.

"You like my friends?" He questioned, eyebrow raising a bit.

"They're cool people." Piccolo smirked and downed the last of his beer. Seventeen watched him crush it and score it into the trashcan.

"So you're coming with us to the club tonight?"

Piccolo thought about it for a second and then shrugged. "Yeah sure. Why not?"

Outside in the living room, everyone was having a blast as the shared old times. "Remember when when you and Vegeta use to _date_!?" Chichi brought up, smirking. Vegeta huffed and turned away while Eighteen blushed.

"We weren't _dating_!" The blond haired woman detested with a smile"He just took me to a dance! Jeez, get over it!!" Eighteen had been smiling and beaming all day, Krillin noticed, watching her from the corner of his eye. When Seventeen had called him and told him to come over, Krillin had already knew what he wanted. Vegeta and Goku knew also, since they had all saw Eighteen the day before. Everyone had been overjoyed by her return, including Goku who had either put on a nice act or had forgotten seeing her earlier on, which was likely knowing him.

Seventeen had announced that they'd be going to the club around 8 which would be perfect for everyone. Goku and Vegeta were off duty, Chichi didn't have any classes the rest of the day, Yamcha had already called in sick, Gohan had nowhere to be, Piccolo and Seventeen were off for the day and Krillin finished his last client around Six.

Krillin wasn't sure that he planned to go, however. Whenever he was beside Eighteen, there was definite tension. He knew everyone could tell and he knew that it was noticeable because of the way they acted towards one another.

Seventeen and Piccolo re-entered the room as soon as Goku exclaimed, "Hey Chi, why don't you invite your new friend along with us?"

Everyone turned to her in confusion except Vegeta.

"You have a new friend?" Yamcha questioned, a smirk slowly spreading across his face. Chichi rolled her eyes.

"Yes and Yamcha? She doesn't want to sleep with you." She put a hand to Seventeen who had opened his mouth. "Or you either."

"Invite her along." Seventeen said, seemingly ignoring her comment. "The more the merrier!"

"Yeah Chi, what's her name?" Eighteen asked, taking a sip of her water. Gohan had slipped away, off to play with Pip.

"Bulma." Chichi answered. "Ge this, Eighteen! She works for-"

"Capsule Corporation." Eighteen finished her sentenced in a daze, eyebrows furrowed. Everyone looked at her. "That's my boss, Bulma Briefs."

"You work for Capsule Corporation Eighteen?!" Chichi squealed excitingly, taking her hands.

"Yeah. I told you we got relocated."

"But you didn't tell us you worked for CC!" Yamcha chimed in. "Hey Eighteen, be real with me, is your boss hot?" Vegta growled lowly and sunk lower into his seat. Eighteen shot Yamcha a mock smile and flipped him the bird. "Hey, I'm just asking."

"Things never change. And don't any of you DARE try and sleep with her. She's much to classy for any of you." Eighteen said in regal tone, causing everyone to laugh. "Anyway, we have a HUGE-"

"Q and A today." Chichi and Vegeta finished her sentence in unison.

"So you guys really have met her? Well good! That means she wont be so uncomfortable. I've been meaning to introduce her to you guys anyway." Eighteen stated, picking up her cell phone. "After the big meeting, we can come with you guys. I just have to persuade her to take an extra few hours off."

* * *

"I can't _believe _you made me do this." Bulma whined, looked at herself in the full length mirror in Eighteen's brother's home. After some arguing and pleading, Eighteen had persuaded her blue haired boss to take the night off and roll with her friends to the club. Now, here the blue haired girl was, standing in front of the mirror with a low cut black skirt on and a white tank top that looked tight. Her hair was in waves, falling down her back and shoulders.

"I didn't _make_ you do anything." Eighteen said, while checking herself out in high stilettos, a black, fitting dress and leggings. "You came because you wanted to."

"No, I came because you bugged me to death!" She exclaimed. "You even made Tien come! Tien"

"Whatever. Tien needed some fresh air. He looked too pale." Eighteen muttered, applying lipstick to her lips. "All that matters, is your here and you're going and Tien's going and we're gonna have a good time. Now, "The blond posed, and puckered up her lips. "How do I look?"

""Like a slut." Bulma said flatly.

"Good, so do you." Eighteen said sarcastically, walking out of the room she slept in. "Everyone is already on there way, I wouldn't want them waiting for us. Lets go!"

* * *

What Vegeta saw come through that club door almost made him fall from his seat at the bar. He was half drunk and already over the legal limit even as he poured another glass of wine. He watched the beautiful figure make its way towards a group of people, lead by a black haired girl.

_Heh, that's my sister. _He told himself. So who was the sexy thing walking _with_ his sister? And who were those people?

He saw a green skinned man nod politely and a tall guy hug the blue haired beauty that was with his sister. _Aahah, oh. That Kakarot...and that's Yamcha...and that Piccolo guy and there's Krillin..._He thought, recognizing his friends finally, even in the blur of his vision. He saw a tall, bald headed man that was completely unfamiliar to him, hug his sister and shake hands with the guys, His attention didn't stay on him long though because the beautiful lady was moving. How come he couldn't see her face?

And how come everything was so fucking blurry!? He put his hand in front of his face and was displeased when he couldn't see it.

"Wow Vegeta," He heard someone say as they walked up. "You look so fucking wasted."

Vegeta turned and squinted at the face, trying to determine who he was. Unfortunately, he couldn't. "What?"

"Nothing man!" The voice said, sitting down beside him. "Hey I just met that Bulma gal. Dude, she's a fucking babe! Why didn't you tell me? My god, that's pure gold!"

_Bulma. Bulma. Bulma..._"Bulma..." Vegeta said softly, turning his eyes back to the blue haired figure. That was who it was! Bulma! "Sexy..."

"Yeah I know!" The voice was still talking. "She's VERY sexy!"

"I hope we're not talking about Bulma hmm?" There was another voice. Vegeta looked from blurry face to blurry face, growing frustrated because he had no idea who he was speaking to.

"Yeah Seventeen we're talking about her. My lord, did you see that ass? I was getting a woody on the spot."

"Uh...TMI, Yamcha."

_Yamcha and Seventeen!! _Vegeta exclaimed in his head, smiling to himself. That's who they were! He continued to drink his beer while they mumbled on about how good Bulma looked.

"She dosen't want you two." Vegeta finally said, fed up with their talk. Both men turned to him in surprise.

"Oh but she wants you right?" Seventeen asked in sarcasm.

"Who doesn't?" Vegeta smirked drunkenly, raising his glass in an invisible toast.

Yamcha scoffed. "Don't waste your breath. She looks damn intelligent. Way too smart for your ploys." He told Vegeta with his own smirk. The comment made Vegeta frown as he gulped down the last of his drink.

"I bet you I could."

Seventeen and Yamcha exchanged confused glances. "Could what?" They both asked. Vegeta slammed his beer glass down hard and spun towards them both.

"I bet you I could get her in bed before either of you." The widowed peak male was grinning devilishly. Seventeen and Yamcha looked at each other again, but this time with bemused expressions.

"You're kidding." Seventeen smirked. Vegeta just raised an eyebrow, staring at them both. "You're kidding right?"

"Dead serious."

"Alright, "Yamcha was grinning, rubbing his palms together. "I'm in. Whoever gets in bed with her first, and gets _proof_ that they did, wins."

"Deal." Vegeta smirked. Seventeen looked from male to male.

"You guys are insane." The twin stated.

"You in or you out, Seventeen?" Yamcha asked, keeping eye contact with Vegeta.

"Or are you too chicken?" Vegeta teased, boring holes into Yamcha's eyes.

"I'm out." Seventeen said, shaking his head.

"Pussy." Yamcha said, breaking their staring contest to look at him. "What? Are you that afraid of getting humiliated?" Seventeen frowned and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Ya know what? I'm in, just because I want to see the look on your face when you _lose_." Seventeen laughed.

"Dream on." Yamcha countered. "So when are we starting?"

Vegeta looked over his shoulder just in time to see the blue haired woman emerge from the bathroom. "Right now."

* * *


	9. Chasing the Blue haired One

* * *

**_Chapter Eight._**

* * *

Tien hadn't planned on being persuaded by his blond colleague to come to a club/bar, as she liked to call it, at night with a bunch of her old friends who lived in the city. He had thought he would be able to lay in his apartment bedroom and wallow in his self pity until he had to get up the next morning. After the Q and A, he had drove awhile a bit and was starting to head home when his cell phone rung. Much to his surprise, it was Eighteen and after a long 15 minutes, she had talked him into changing and meeting them at the club/bar.

Not only that, but she had also talked Bulma into coming along and he knew how hard a feat that must have been. Their boss was a no-nonsense type woman when it came to outside activities. She had been buried in her work from the moment they met and had remained that way.

He was shocked however, when he realized that he was enjoying himself.

The Bar/Club was a bit conservative and retro at the same time. All together, it was a nice place to go and hang around. Eighteen's friends were all very kind and cool, in their own little weird ways. Tien didn't know if he had every one of their names down but that was beside the point.

"Having a nice time, Tien?" Someone asked, coming up behind the bald male who was leaning against one of the many couches. Tien smiled politely when he realized it was on of Eighteen's friends, trying desperately to remember the man's name.

"Yes, I'm simply wonderful." He replied back, squinting his eyes a bit, searching his mind. "Seventeen! Yeah, I'm having a wonderful time, Seventeen." He was caught off guard when the black haired, pretty boy slapped him on the back, almost causing him to spill his drink.

"Haha, well that's good! I was worried you were over here all alone because you hated us." There was twinkle of mischief in the man's eye and Tien couldn't hold back his grin.

"Nah." Tien shook his head. "I'm just a bit tired. You and your friends are great, though. I wouldn't mind hanging out with you all more."

"You're welcomed to." Seventeen nodded. He leaned back on the couch beside Tien and kept grinning. "You must be insane however, if you want to. My friends...are peculiar. Every last one."

"I'm sure you're exaggerating." Tien chuckled, taking a swig of his drink. "They all seemed normal to me."

Seventeen made a face. "Normal? Did you meet them all?" Tien laughed again. "Seriously, they all have some troublesome past about them. I think _I'm_ the only normal one."

"Troublesome past?" Tien's interest perked up considerably.

"Yeah," Seventeen lazily rolled his eyes around the dark club, the bass of the music bumping through the ground and into their ears. His eyes settled on the small figure of Krillin, his dark short hair sprouting from his once shaven head. "Take Krillin for example, "He started. "The man has had all of his dreams flushed right down the toilet. Along with a marriage and..." Seventeen stopped himself, realizing that he was talking to a complete stranger. Krillin's business had no right to be exposed.

"A marriage?" Tien raised an eyebrow, pretending to ignore the way Seventeen's eyes bazed in his tanned face.

"You don't know?" Genuine surprised. "After all, he was married to your partner, Eighteen."

To say the news shocked him was under exaggerating. Tien nearly had a heart attack! Eighteen was once married? And it had failed? He knew that she liked to keep her personal life under keeps but wow, he never would have thought.

Tien sensed Seventeen's eyes on him and and shrugged, masking his recent expression with one of indifference. "Oh yeah. She told me about that. Real shame." He lied. Seventeen nodded. It seemed to all make sense to Tien at once. No wonder Eighteen and the man had been so distant to one another. He thought he was the only one to notice the awkward exchange on both their parts.

"Shame indeed. I haven't saw him truly happy in a while." Seventeen's voice was solenm and gravely and all Tien could do was nod, not knowing what else to say or do. The dark haired male suddenly brightened up however and he smiled. "Sorry. I didn't mean to get on such a despairing topic. I'm sure you didn't come here for a pity story." He turned his eyes and they lit up, catching site of a certain blue haired woman.

With Yamcha close at her heels, seeming to be talking up a storm and already making the first move.

Tien noticed his gaze on his boss and raised an eyebrow. "It's alright. I didn't mind hearing about it." The bald headed man spoke up, interupting Seventeen's daze.

"Huh? Oh yes, yes." Seventeen waved it off and turned a grinning face on Tien. "Hey, how long have you worked for Mrs.Briefs?" His random question caught Tien off guard.

"A few years. Why?"

Seventeen turned back to the woman, narrowing his eyes as Yamcha leaned down to whisper in her ear. "She's a beautiful woman. And very intelligent. A prize gem."

"Yeah, she is." Tien nodded in agreement. "It seems as though your friend has taking a liking to her."

"It'd be hard not to." Seventeen replied back with more anger then he thought he'd have. _Shit, Yamcha is damn near smothering her! How the hell am I going to make my move now?_

"I haven't really saw her date much." Tien drawled out, noticing the tone of Seventeen's voice. "Actually, for as long as I've known her, she's been single. Too caught up in her work. If your friend really does get her out of that phase, I'd be happy for her."

He didn't realize how wrong his words were.

* * *

Bulma took the drink Yamcha offered her with a polite smile and turned a bit towards the circle she stood in with Chichi and Eighteen. After arriving, they had introduced her face to face to everyone who she hadn't already met except for Chichi's brother, who hadn't been anywhere in sight at the time. Bulma wasn't too disappointed though, she hadn't been excited to meet the man again and suffer his sarcastic cynicism as she had before.

Unlike Chichi's brother, Yamcha had been an exceptional gentlemen. He had greeted her with a kiss on the hand, bowed slightly and called her lovely, things Bulma guessed that Vegeta would never have been caught dead doing. Yamcha's undivided attention however, annoyed her a bit. He was a nice man yeah, but she was sure he was hitting on her.

"So how long have you been here?" Yamcha asked casually refering to their topic, taking a sip from his wine. The blue haired woman stared into her cup and shrugged.

"Not long. No more then a day or so." She looked up to see that Chichi and Eighteen had drifted into their own conversation and felt a little nervous.

"Do you like it here?" Yamcha was giving her a gorgeous smile.

"Yes. It's wonderful here but very hot."

He laughed whole heartily. "Why yes, I can't disagree with you there. But you'll get used to it."

"Just like you'll get used to Yamcha here hitting on you." Came the monotone Eighteen's voice. "Haven't you ogled her enough?" This question was directed at him and, all credit due, his smile never wavered.

"Please Eighteen, couldn't I ogle a little more?" His voice was a mocking plead as he glanced at Bulma with a smirk. She felt her face burn and turned away.

Eighteen rolled her eyes and Chichi scoffed. "Mr.Charming huh?" The raven haired girl laughed then turned to Bulma. "Come on, lets go to the back away where the pool table is, away from these _men_."

"Sure." Bulma nodded with a smile and started to follow as they walked away before Yamcha gently grabbed her elbow.

"Sorry if I made you uncomfortable but here." He turned her palm over and scribbled numbers down on her hand. "I know the way I gave it was a little high school but please, call me anytime." That said, he gave her one last smile and walked away. Bulma frowned a little and looked at the number.

"B, you coming!?" Called her blond haired colleague.

"Oh uh, yes here I come!" She called back, pacing after them through the crowds.

* * *

Vegeta splashed more water on his face and grabbed the sides of the sink, looking up at himself. _Damn, I was wasted. _He though irritably, splashing more water on his face. He was in the club's bathroom, trying to wash away all the booze he had engorged earlier on. Most of the night had been a blur to him so he was more then surprised when his memory returned to one event.

_"I bet you I could get her in bed before either of you."_

His eyes widened. Had he really just made a bet about that? Oh shit. He splashed more water on his face and hoped his memories weren't correct.

_"You're kidding." Seventeen smirked._

_"Dead serious."_

Fuck! Vegeta drowned his face in the sink as the water poured out.

_"I'm in. Whoever gets in bed with her first, and gets proof that they did, wins."Yamcha was grinning_

_"Ya know what? I'm in, just because I want to see the look on your face when you lose." Seventeen laughed._

_"Deal." Vegeta smirked._

He started to laugh with his head still dunked into the water and started to choke, pulling his head back out. He smirked devilishly at himself in the mirror and laughed some more until he thought his lungs must burst. Oh jeez, he had really made a bet about getting Bulma into bed with Yamcha and Seventeen when he was drunk hadn't he?

And the fools had taken it.

Another laugh erupted from Vegeta as he turned off the faucet. If they really expected to best him in this area, they were sadly mistaken. He didn't know if they had been drunken or not, but there was no way he'd let them out of this.

"Oh this is going to be good." Vegeta chuckled.

_"Dream on." Yamcha countered. "So when are we starting?"_

Vegeta grabbed a towel that was left abandoned next to the sink and wiped his hands and face on it.

_"Right now."_

His eyes widened again and he threw the towel on the ground and rushed out of the bathroom. Damn, they had already started?

* * *

"OK ladies," Goku said, picking up a pool stick and circling the table with a wide grin. "I think it's time for the master to show you how it's done." He twirled the stick too fast and it hit him in the face. "Ow!" He exclaimed, rubbing the side of his face.

Eighteen laughed and grabbed a pool stick as well, using it to prod Goku out of the way. "OK, Master, whatever you say. We get stripes?"

"Sure." Goku shrugged. Chichi grabbed her stick as well while Bulma sat back.

"Uh..guys, I-."The blue haired girl spoke up with a frown but was cut off.

"Playing pool?" Came a deep, smooth taunting voice from behind her. "Heh, just the game I was in the mood for." None other then Vegeta came walking up, brushing past the blue haired woman and taking a pool stick from the rack, walking to stand beside Goku. Bulma rolled her eyes and put hands on hips.

"Alright! I get Vegeta!" Goku exclaimed happily.

"That's exactly what we need." Eighteen said dully. "Oh mighty Vegeta, head of arrogance." She shot the widow peaked man a smirk and recieved a glare.

"Oh ha ha." He laughed sarcastically. "Keep talking blondie."

"Here B, "Chichi handed Bulma a pool stick who looked at it strangely. "Don't worry, we'll teach you how to play." Then turning to Vegeta and Goku she said, "That's the three of us versus you two. Find another player."

Goku opened his mouth to respond to her but was painfully cut off by Vegeta's pool stick slamming into his chest. "We don't need another player. Me and Kakarot can beat you three easily."

"We can?" Goku furrowed his eyebrows. Vegeta sent him a glare.

"We can." The fire haired man said through clenched teeth. Goku smiled and laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. Vegeta then turned to Bulma and smirked. "I'm sure she's an amateur am I right? It'll be more like two on two with her here." His tone made Bulma narrow her eyes and she growled lowly.

Not only was this guy as arrogant as before but it seemed as though he had somehow, gotten better at pissing people off. It should have been his profession. Well, fine, he wanted to play tough guy? Whatever.

"Yeah, I've never played before." Bulma sighed dramatically and fluttered her eyelashes. "Oh, could you show me how since you're so obviously, the best at everything and nobody can surpass you?" Eighteen and Chichi snickered at her display and Vegeta nearly narrowed his eyebrows.

"I think you've been hanging around my sister and Blondie too much. You're starting to pick up their annoying vibes." He smirked and pushed past her to the table, aligning all the balls in the triangle box. "What are we? Stripes or Solids?"

"Solid." Goku informed, leaning back on another pool table.

Vegeta smirked again and lifted up the triangle piece, all 15 balls perfectly in a triangle shape. "I'll break." He said, leaning over and postioning up his shot.

Bulma watched as he took it, the balls scattering and heading different ways and two solid colored balls landing in pockets.

"Nice one V!" Goku cheered as Vegeta gave the girls a satisfied smirk and stepped back. Eighteen, Chichi and Bulma were all looking none too thrilled as Goku stepped up to make his shot.

The overzelous, goofy haired male got none in on his however.

"Hahahaha!" Chichi taunted, sticking out her tongue as Eighteen and Bulma laughed. Vegeta's smirk vanished instantly and he glowered at Goku who gave him an apologetic glance and shrugged.

"Why don't you let the rookie go now?" Vegeta spoke up, glancing at Bulma who sent him a cool look. "I'd like to see her try to make a shot. You have to get in a striped ball, dear." He mocked with a chuckle, Goku snickering.

"Go ahead B." Eighteen said, patting her on the shoulder. "Show Mr.Stick up his ass how it's done."

"Mr.Stick up his ass? How original." Vegeta muttered. Bulma took her pool stick and stomped over to the table, bending down to look at every angle. "Haha, oh look Kakarot, she's trying to determine the difference between stripes and solids!" Vegeta suddenly exclaimed and the two guys erupted in laughter.

"Put a sock in it, would ya?" Chichi snapped. Bulma seemingly ignored them or didn't noticed as she aligned the pool stick with the table and took her shot. Every body's mouths dropped when they saw 5 of the striped balls fall in pockets. Bulma turned to Vegeta, with a glorious smirk on her lovely face.

"Beginner's luck?" She gave him a innocent look and a shrug and Vegeta clenched his teeth so hard, she thought they would shatter.

"Oh dude, she's good." Goku whispered to him, watching the girls congratulate Bulma.

"I think I know that Kakarot!"

* * *

"I think that's..." Chichi started, after standing up from making her shot. "game and...POINT!" She cheered, watching the last of the balls fall into a pocket.

"And the girls win!" Bulma laughed, highfiving each other. Vegeta sat on an adjacent pool table next to Goku, the fire haired male looking exceptionally ticked and Goku looking bored and defeated.

"We don't_ need_ another player. We can beat you three _easily_." Goku said in a mocking tone, referring to what Vegeta had said earlier on. "Oh yeah, we beat them easily alright!"

"Shut up!" Vegeta roared at him. "Maybe if you weren't so dimwitted, we would have won?"

"Dimwitted? You missed like 3 shots!"

"And you missed 5!" Vegeta countered.

"Now now," Chichi said, walking in front of them with a grin. "you both still lost, like it or not." She giggled at her brother's red face.

"Whatever! It was a handicap. We totally let you win." Vegeta shrugged indifferently, putting back his pool stick. Bulma's eyes flashed angrily. What? He wasn't seriously calling their win a fluke was he?

"Excuse me?" Bulma asked, walking up infron of him. "You _let_ us win?"

"Isn't that what I said?" Vegeta sneered at her. "Besides, you conned us. If I had knew you were so good, I'd have chosen another player."

"Oh no, no, no, you _assumed_ I was an amateur remember?Just like you _assumed_ I didn't know my stripes from my solids right?"

"Bulma, don't waste your breath." Eighteen told her.

"Oh no. I'm sick of his attitude and he's a sore loser." Bulma stated hotly. Vegeta's eyebrows shot up.

"Sore loser?" He growled.

"Yes. _Sore. Loser_." The blue haired woman drawled out angrily. "Just admit we kicked your ass all up and down this pool hall."

Vgeeta snorted. "You did no such thing."

Bulma let out a frustrated growl. "You have got to be the most arrogant man I've ever seen in my life!"

"Why thank you." He smirked down at her and she rolled her eyes, shaking her head and stormed away.

"Nice going Vegeta." Chichi shot him a frown. "Could you at least be partially nice?"

"No." Vegeta told her bluntly, watching as she sighed and turned around with Eighteen to go after Bulma. Goku laughed as he came to stand beside his partner who gave him a raised eyebrow. "What's funny?"

"Oh nothing. Just noticing that she's like the only person who ever beat you in pool." Goku stated with a goofy smile.

"I don't find that funny." The widow peaked man said dryly.

* * *

Seventeen was pleasantly surprised when he ran into Bulma on his way towards the back of the club. She nearly made him spill his drink and he sighed heavily when it some of it splashed against his dress shirt.

"Oh I am so sorry!" She exclaimed instantly, a sympathetic expression crumbling into her face. "Oh jeez! I'm so clumsy! Sorry, sorry, sorry! I wasn't paying much attention. I-"

"You're sorry, I get it." Seventeen laughed. "It's okay. Not much spilled." Bulma grimaced and looked about ready to apologize again until her eyes flickered with recognition.

"Oh, you're Seventeen." She said with a small grin. "Eighteen's twin brother." She could tell by the structure of his face.

"That is me." Seventeen smiled back. "And you are Bulma, Eighteen's boss. I've believed we've already met before."

"Oh yeah, of course. I was just surprised to run into you." Her eyes trailed back to the stain on his shirt and grimaced again. "And run into you, I did."

"Haha, about that, were you in a rush or something? You stormed past me like a hurricane."

"Sorry...I was just um, a little mad and I wasn't paying attention." She waved it away with a small blush.

"Hmm." Seventeen nodded. "So, how are you enjoying yourself?"

"Oh fine." Bulma replied, grinning. "You're sister and Chichi have been so kind to me and the others have too. It's been rather fun." Her thoughts traveled back to Vegeta and she frowned.

"Good, good. Hey, would you like a drink? It's on me." Seventeen offered casually. _Better not push too hard. _She seemed to ponder on that for a moment and then shrugged, seeing no harm done coming from it.

"Sure. Why not?" She followed Seventeen across the club to the counter at the bar.

* * *

XD Look at that! They're all getting a chance at her! Oo Who here thinks Vegeta isn't coming at her so good? But, hey, that's our Veggie and you know his technique! Kinda ironic that the one who's suppose to win is starting out lousy huh? xDDD Review please? If you do, I'll give you candy! :D

-D4


	10. Sitting up Front

_An Update. Enjoy._

* * *

_**Chapter Nine**_

* * *

Bulma was surprised to find herself laughing along with Seventeen as he explained something that had occurred in his childhood involving a rake, a notebook and an angry old man living next door. Before she knew it, she had downed over 10 drinks, giggling and wiggling as she sat at the bar with the black haired twin of her employee. Whoo, was it just her or was everything getting really blurry?

As much as she was enjoying the man's company, even if she was_ slightly _tipsy, she couldn't shake something out of her mind. It was nagging and gnawing at her, making her frown occasionally.

Vegeta.

That widow peaked, thick eyebrow midget! It had been at least 2 or 3 hours since she'd last seen him, _how long had she been here!?,_and he was still on her fucking mind! She couldn't even drown out her thoughts with beer. Aww, this sucked.

She suddenly became aware of silence. Had he stopped talking or left? She squinted at the man and found that he had turned and was now speaking with another woman. A red head. Her fingers clenched the bottle she was holding and she saw red. How rude!, she thought in disgust, how dare he blow me off while I'm sitting right here!

In actuality, Seventeen had actually excused himself to speak with the red head but Bulma had been too caught up on Vegeta that she hadn't heard.

After telling the woman as politely as he could that no, he wasn't looking for a date and no, he had too much things to do next saturday_ and_ no, he wouldn't like her number, she finally got the message and strutted off in anger. Seventeen turned and met heated blue eyes and blinked.

"Something the matter?"

_Yeah, my head is pounding so hard in my skull I think it might burst! _But she replied, "I'm fine. Just a little...tired." The red head was lost in the whirl of booze that occupied her mind. "What time is it?"

Seventeen checked his watch. "Almost one." He watched her sway. "You sure you're okay?"

Bulma placed a hand to her head. "I'm fine but I think it's time for me to head home." Her eyelids felt like they were made of granite. She needed someone to drive her home didn't she? No wait, she had rode here with Eighteen so all was good. Eighteen would drop her off and she'd be on her way. Wait, drop her off where? At Capsule Corporation, of course! Yes, because they had finally bought and placed the furniture. Yes...that was it.

Now where was the blond?

"Where's Eighteen?" Bulma asked as nicely as she could muster. To Seventeen, it came out as more of a command.

"She uh..Oh yeah, she left a few hours ago. Told me to tell you but I guess it slipped my mind. She-"

"LEFT?" Bulma' mind was reeling. "How could she just leave!? I rode here with her! What-"

"Calm down," Seventeen chuckled, placing a hand on her shoulder. A friendly, light hand. Or an intimate one? " She told me to tell you that Chichi will drive you home. She was just so spent and she didn't want to drag you out because you seemed to be having so much fun." His eyebrow shot up. "You are having fun right?"

"I'm having a blast." But already, she was turning every which way. "Where is Chichi? I feel lightheaded." She tried to get up, swayd heavily and found a hand on her elbow, keeping her steady. Seventeen's. It was light again but why did it feel so inviting?

"Hold your horses gal, I think you're drunk." He was laughing, crinkles at the corners of his eyes. Handsome, bright eyes, Bulma thought absently. He was a good looking guy, that was for sure.

"I'm not drunk." She slurred.

Seventeen smiled. "Sit down and wait here, I'll find Chi for you." He turned to leave, paused a beat and spun back around to face her. "And try not to attract attention okay? That guy to your right has been staring at you all day ad so have about 6 others. Wouldn't want me to get jealous huh?" He winked and then was off, pushing through the crowd.

Bulma turned to her right and saw the guy he was referring to. Seventeen, she thought, get jealous over that guy? No way. He was a cocky little thing with close eyes and dark brown hair. She sent him an angry look and he averted his gaze immediately. Se then commenced to sending all the other guys dirty looks as well. The message was clear: She was not interested.

All the while Seventeen's statement was in her mind: _Wouldn't want me jealous would you?_ It had been such a cute and light joke, one that shouldn't have disturbed her so. Those words had felt like they had a heavy meaning to them.

Why in he world was that man still single? Was her last thought before ordering another glass.

--------

Twenty minutes later, the group was gathered outside. Or what was _left _of the group. Bulma hadn't known that so many of her friends had ditched her and left. Not only Eighteen but Tien had too.

Chichi, Seventeen, Goku, Vegeta, Yamcha and Bulma were the only ones left. Which means Piccolo and Krillin had also taken off. Bulma felt someone slip beside her as they stood huddled. She wasn't surprised to see that it was Yamcha. Seventeen was on her other side.

"Alighty," Chichi yawned. "I'm too damn tired to drive so here's the deal. We've got two cars and six people. Me, Veggie and Bulma ride in one and the rest of you can ride in Goku's."

Vegeta frowned at his sister's beloved nickname but made no mention of it.

Yamcha groaned. "Why do I get stuck with them?" Goku and Seventeen gave him looks and he smirked.

'Well for one, we're all going to the same place." Chichi said, motioning to herself, her brother and blue haired woman.

Bulma spoke up. "Uh, Actually Chichi, I'm grateful that you let me stay with you last night but I can go to CC now, they've brought in the furniture."

"So soon?" Chichi frowned in disappointment. "You sure you don't want to stay with us one more night? After all, they must be working and constructing over there...right?"

"If the woman wants to go home then let her." Vegeta spat angrily. "Can we hurry the hell up? It's fucking freezing out here and me and Kakarot have 5 am shifts." He was actually infuriated with himself about that. How the hell had he forgotten? By the time his memory had reached him, it had already been one o'clock. Shit.

It was all Bulma's fault, he thought. She had been in his mind all night. The rise he had gotten out of her earlier at the pool table had attracted his attention. So she had some fight in her? He wanted to see more of it.

Goku yawned too. "Yeah guys I'm beat." He spun to Seventeen and Yamcha. "Which one of you wants to drive?" As they discussed it, the three men started off towards the car, arguing.

Chich spun around and walked in the opposite direction, Vegeta and Bulma following. "Veg-head you're driving because I'm tired and B doesn't know her way around."

Vegeta scoffed. "Great. I get stuck with the two useless woman." He turned his head slightly to see what Bulma would say and was mildy disappointed when she only rolled her eyes. Hm, maybe she was too exhausted for a fight? He hadn't seen her since the pool table and it felt good to finally have her alone.

Chichi sneezed. Or _somewhat_ alone. _I'm going to win this bet._Chichi crawled into the back of Vegeta's car and instantly fell asleep.

"Get in the front," Vegeta told the blue haired woman as he opened the driver's side door. You don't want to be next to Chi when she sleeps. It's like a rabid bear attack."

Bulma held back a smile. "I'll take my chances."

Vegeta sighed. "Would you just listen to me? Besides, I don't know where the hell _CC _is so I'm going to need directions." That said, he got in and slammed his door. A beat later, Bulma sunk in beside him and slammed hers. She could already hear Chichi snoring in the back.

Vegeta took off out of the club's parking lot and started down the street. The lights from the road illuminating their faces each time they passed under one. He spotted Goku's car in his mirror, heading the opposite way. All was silent. The radio was off, the sky was dark and nobody was speaking. It was like the world had gone quiet excluding Chichi's light snores. Vegeta took a sharp right turn and he saw, out the corner of his eye, Bulma slowly put on her seat belt.

"Driving too fast for you sweetheart?"

Bulma turned to stare at him and saw his smirk. "Sorry, I guess I'm not use to maniacs driving." His smirk stayed in place.

"I'll drive to drive real slow for you." He teased "By the way, sorry for not having bottled water and shit, I know how you've probably grown accustomed to that in your limo."

She eyed him. "Whats your problem?"

"I have no problem."

She scoffed. "You have a GIGANTIC one."

"Which is?"

"You're an asshole."

"I'm an asshole because I speak the truth?"

"No, you're an asshole because you deliberately say things that you know will rile a person up. Do you get our kicks out of watching people get angry? You'll probably love to watch the world burn."

Another smirk. _You have no idea. _"So, what, the water comment made you angry?"

"No but I see you wish it did."

"I'll have to try harder." He made another sharp turn and Bulma clutched the dashboard.

"I hope you're not driving like this just because I'm here."

"Don't flatter yourself princess, I drive like this for all my dates."

"But I'm not you're date."

"Consider this a privilege then."

Bulma turned so he wouldn't see her smile. Man, was he a pompous ass that with such a dry sense of humor. And yet, Bulma found herself enjoying his company. He had actually made her headache go away. Whoo, what a medicine. The car grew silent again.

"What's your last name?" Was the sudden question from his lips. Bulma was startled by it.

"Briefs." She drawled.

He raised an eyebrow. "Really? Like Calvin Klein briefs?"

"Yep."

"Nice. Is you're dad called Panties?"

Bulma growled and narrowed her eyes. "Fuck off."

"Why so hostile?" He shot her a glance and she could see the sheer amusement on his face. Shit, he actually like to rile her up didn't he!?

"Why do you try to start up a conversation if you're just going to turn it negative!?" She exclaimed.

"Well how am I suppose to keep it positive when you're life is so easy to insult?" He asked arrogantly with a smile.

Bulma narrowed her eyes. "You're a prick! I can't believe you're related to Chichi."

At the mention of his sister's name, he glanced back. She was knocked out, stone cold sleep. Nothing could wake her up now, not even the apocalypse. "My sister has an evil side too believe me, she just keeps hers bottled up for people she likes." He paused. "Like you."

"So you don't like me huh?" Bulma's voice was dull. Vegeta considered the question.

"I don't like anybody." He was angered and surprised when she started to laugh. "What's funny?" He asked in a growl, narrowing his eyes.

"That's bullshit Vegeta and you know it." She giggled. "I mean, if you hated everyone then you'd have no friends. What about Chichi? You hate her too?"

"No doubt." He answered matter-of-factly.

Bulma sighed but kept her smile, staring out the window. "Of course you don't. You know what I think _Veg-head_?" She asked as he took a smooth turn. He grimaced and opened his mouth to object to the nickname but she kept going, "I don't think you're as mean as you let people believe. I actually think you're kind of nice. Like a big softy inside, that's what Chichi told me."

Vegeta scoffed. "And what makes you think that?" He asked with sarcasm, slowing the car down. Bulma grinned when he stopped it and turned to give him a "I've just won this argument' look.

"Well because you've known where Capsule Corp. was at the entire time." She pointed outside at the building. "Without me giving you directions at all. So why exactly did you want me to sit up front?"

Vegeta was caught off guard, opening his mouth but having no reply. He looked slightly uncomfortable and Bulma held back a laugh, thinking he looked cute when he was like that. _So the all mighty Vegeta can be dumbfounded. _Without another word, Bulma opened the door and skipped out, humming to herself. He might have been a complete ass through the entire car ride but the look on his face when she got out was worth it.

All the while, Vegeta had his mouth open with the same incredulous look on his face even as he watched her disappear into the building. It took him a moment to compose himself, reach across and shut the passenger side door and take off down the street, grumbling angrily to himself.

Oblivious to her brother was the raven haired girl in the back who had one eye cracked open. She giggled silently and closed her eye, preparing to go back to sleep after muttering, "Smooth Veggie, real smooth."

* * *

_Review Please? ^_^_


	11. Because the Paparazzi Are Annoying

_I've decided to take onefic, finish it completely and continue doing that to the others. How long would that last and will I keep to it?_

_Probably not._

_Enjoy._

* * *

_**Chapter Ten**_

* * *

Chichi heard a loud smash resound from somewhere in the house as she neatly folded the covers on her bed. Her head whipped up and she took off in the direction of it. Two more burst of loud banging followed and the black haired girl ended up standing in her brother's doorway, eyebrows furrowed in worry.

"Vegeta, what was-" She stopped in her exclamation and her shoulders slumped, both relieved and annoyed.

Her brother glanced up at her from his spot on the floor, tangled in his covers, his hand curled into a fist above his head with the alarm clock bashed into pieces before him.

The first sound had been him falling from the bed after trying to reach the alarm. He hadn't predicated the distance to be so long and he had went tumbling sideways. The other two noises had been his fist pounding the little item.

"That cost money you know." Chichi sighed, calmly walking over to him and lifting what was left of it to the desk beside his bed.

"So? I paid for it." He got to his feet, with much difficulty and then slumped back onto is bed. "The damn thing woke me up. I was sleeping peacefully."

"That's what it's suppose to do! Now get up, you have an early shift today right? Goku's probably on his way over any second." And as if on cue, the doorbell rang and Chichi sprinted out of the room to get it.

Vegeta lazily got to his feet again, tossing off the covers. He was dressed in boxers and a rumpled white beater. He didn't bother to change as he dragged himself into the kitchen, eyes slitted. He was irritated at how his sister was up and dressed already. Stupid early bird.

Neither of them expected what happened next. Chichi opened the door, a wide smile on her face, ready to greet her brother's partner.

Instead, she got a tape recorder shoved in her face. "Chichi Prince!?" The black haired girl blinked and took in the two people outside her door. One male, one female. The woman had long red hair with dark eyes. A real beauty. The boy beside her, with bright hazel eyes and short cropped hair, held a large camcorder on his shoulder.

"Uh...That's me." The woman turned her attention to the boy beside her, giving his camcorder a dazzling smile and Chichi raised an eyebrow. "Who are you people?"

The woman rotated her smile on Chichi. "Hello, I'm reporter Tiffany Reynolds and this is my assistant Kevin Arnold and we have reason to believe that you are associated with Ms. Bulma Briefs of Capsule Corporation?"

Chichi was silent for a beat and then nodded. "Yes." She drawled.

Tiffany got in her face. "Could you tell us any of the new projects the new Capsule Corporation will and can be ensuring throughout the city?" She shoved the tape recorder closer and Chichi thought the woman might stuff it down her throat.

"Uh..I don't know anything."

Tiffany reeled back as if hit and opened her mouth to reply but was cut off.

"What's the big commotion?" It was Vegeta, moving in behind his sister, eyebrow raised in question.

"Uh...we have guest." Chichi offered weakly. Was it just her imagination or was she saying "Uh." a lot?

Tiffany however, found this new man as an opportunity to get some information. She nearly pushed Chichi aside to get beside Vegeta and motioned for Kevin to direct the camcorder towards them. He obliged. "Hello!" The woman greeted, a bit too cheery, taking his hand without consent and shaking it. "And you would be?" She offered the tape recorder to him.

Vegeta gave them both annoyed looks and glanced down at the red head smiling so brightly up at him. "Who am I? Who the fuck are you!? This is my hou-"

Chichi elbowed him in the side and he cut off, doubling over slightly. "Now now," she whispered. "They're here because of Bulma. You know how paparazzi are." The black haired girl was forcing a smile onto her face, staining her voice. "Apparently, someone must have saw us hanging with her yesterday or something. Just act natural and tell them nothing."

But Vegeta was already fuming. They were here for _Bulma_? Ugh, just her name sent his muscles contacting. She had completely embarrassed him yesterday and then walked off with a smug expression! That was his job not hers! And now some ratty, nosy reporters were interviewing them just because they _associate _with the blue haired bitch? Was she that fucking famous? And Chi expected them to be civil?

_She must be insane_, he thought. No way was he going to smile and sprout nonsense. He was absolutely sure that this was the perfect opportunity to get his revenge.

"Bulma Briefs you say?" Vegeta gave his best fake smile that morphed into more of a mischievous smirk. Chichi caught it, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.

Tiffany seemed to be feeding off of it however. She leaned in closer much to the widow peaked Male's chagrin. "Yes, yes! What can you tell us Mr...."

"Vegeta." He offered. "With a V. Matter of fact, here, write this down. You got paper? V-E-G-E-T-A." He watched the two reporters shuffle uncomfortably between each other, searching for pen and paper. When they were prepared, she waved her hand, prompting him to continue.

All the while, Chichi glared at him.

Vegeta's smile instantly withered and his usual scowl took it's place. He narrowed his eyes and clenched his teeth. "Bulma Briefs is the most annoying, idiotic, pompous scientist I've ever encountered. Not only that, but she's grotesquely ugly with a swaggering, arrogant attitude. How such a disgusting, ignorant human being was spawned, I have no clue. I can honestly say that not an _OUNCE_ of decency or good was injected into Ms. _Briefs_. If the devil had a daughter, she'd be it." He folded his arms over his chest.

It took the reporters a while until they realized that he indeed was finished and that he had been strictly serious. Tiffany had her mouth wide open, the recorder still in her outstretched hand, seemingly dazed. Her assistance coughed awkwardly.

Chichi was angry. Probably, easily, the angriest she had ever been. Her face was red and her fingers were balled into such tight fist they were white. She wanted to scream, to yell, to bite her brother's head off and explain that he had been only joking but her rage had stolen her voice.

Tiffany cleared her throat and finally said in a hoarse whisper, "Would you like to be quoted on that?"

Vegeta nodded and pushed her out of the way before slamming the door. He then spun on his heel and headed towards the kitchen as if nothing had happened, wondering vaguely if they had any meatloaf left.

Chichi glowered at him. "Are you out of your mind!?" She screamed finally, stalking after him, relieved that her voice had finally returned. "You might ruin Bulma's image like that!"

Vegeta dismissed the whole thing with a wave of his hands. "Oh keep your panties on. I doubt they believed a word I said."

"Are you kidding me!? Reporters like that don't care about the truth! They'll print anything, even lies if need be, to get a story. And here you are, dishing them out...gossip!" She threw her hands in the air. "Next time, just keep your big mouth shut."

"What for?" Vegeta snapped, grabbing a carton of orange juice from the fridge, gulping it down and then returning it to it's original place. "_They _interrupted _my_ day and for what!? To know about _Capsule Corporation_? Should I care? Maybe next time they get the hint and keep their asses away." As he spoke, he walked to his room with his sister following. "I mean, you're late. I'm probably going to be late and at least, this way, we had a bit of entertainment."

"I didn't find that little stunt funny Vegeta! If you don't like Bulma then _fine_, don't like her but I won't let you ruin my friendship with her okay?! Just stop being an ass!"

Vegeta slipped on a button down black shirt and shrugged. "Whatever Chi, I'll do what I want. I might even go down to Capsule Corporation myself and complain."

Chichi's eyebrow shot up. "Complain?"

"Technically, we're being harassed because of them." He smirked, shrugging on black jeans.

"Grow up." Chichi sighed, walking away. Vegeta saw that she was too tired to continue with their verbal bout and he chalked it up as a victory. In actuality, he didn't care about the reporters. Well, not a _lot_ anyway. He _disliked_ them though, that much was certain. They were nosy and annoying and if he ever got the chance, he might kill them all.

However, he thought it'd be pretty cool to be famous if only because of Bulma. As long as the paparazzi remained distant.

He scowled at the thought of her, memories flashing. _Her talking to Chichi. Her flirting with Yamcha. Her getting angry about the pool game. Her making him feel dumb yesterday night._

_The bet he made with Seventeen and Yamcha._

He strapped on his watch and sighed, clearing his mind. He didn't need the distractions right now.

* * *

Yamcha made a sound in between a yawn and sigh before turning onto his back. In his dream, he was peaceful, healthy, happy, alcohol free. There were a bunch of daises in a big garden and he was running through them, smiling and laughing, towards a figure outlined on the other side.

The figure raised it's arm and motioned him to come closer, almost as if it was beckoning him. Yamcha noticed the curves of it and the long hair, deducing that it was a woman. So, in dream-like form, the young man kept right on running towards that outlined dark body. He got closer and closer until finally her hand was only a inch away.

_RING RING._

Reality cracked and shattered his dream, sending his mind alert. He groaned in distaste and slowly opened his eyes to find the sound that had awoken him, preparing to make it pay.

It took him more then a few minutes to figure out that it was his cell phone that was ringing. He thought about tossing it out of the window but quickly dismissed the thought. It could be one of his friends, calling with an emergency or something.

Or it could be his boss. Calling to tell him that he was fired.

His eyes widened a bit at the last thought. Why was he worried about getting fired, you might ask? Well because the man hadn't showed up for work in almost two weeks.

How long could a person develop the flu and suffer through it? Maybe another week?

_RING. RING. RING. RING._

This guy wasn't giving up. Yamcha reluctantly got out of his bed and padded towards his living room. He heard some yells outside of his apartment followed by footsteps. A loud screech of a cat made him jump and he wondered why he hadn't moved out of this dump yet.

_RING. RING. R-_

Yamcha found his cell phone lying abandoned on the couch by his jacket. He picked it up and held it to his ear. "Yamcha here. Talk." He muttered, yawning afterwards. He tried to make his voice raspy, to sound more sick. When the person on the other line spoke, his face lit up and his mouth curved into a smile.

It was neither one of his old friends or his boss.

It was a woman. He listened to her talk and explain her predicament.

"So, I'd be pretty grateful if you came and looked at it." The woman finished, sounding a bit uncomfortable. Yamcha knew how she felt. He hadn't wanted to see her again on such...formal terms. Besides, it was a bit embarrassing to be called on like this. He should have lied, pretended she had the wrong guy. _"I'm not a plumber!"_ He should have said, laughing as he did_. "The guy who claims to be my boss must have made a mistake. HAHAHA!"_ It sounded lame.

Instead he said, "Of course!" A bit too hastily, a bit too enthusiastically. "Yeah, I'll be right down."

The woman thanked him and they both hung up. Yamcha sighed and ran a hand down his face. Why in the world had his boss directed _her_ to _him_? After all, he supposedly, had the flu.

Something she had said came to mind, _"Well, he said you were the best so here I am, calling you."_ Then she had laughed lightly afterwards, as if she didn't believe it. He actually wished she didn't believe it.

Yamcha sighed again and went back into his bedroom to get ready. He felt nervous, happy and possessive all at once. So what if she had only called for his plumbing techniques? That didn't mean she wasn't attracted to him. A little bit of attraction could go a long way.

_Like right into bed._

Yamcha kissed his forearm and smiled at himself in the mirror. "We're off to see Bulma again," He did a pose. "And you're _going_ to win this bet."

* * *

Eighteen crossed her eyes, staring at the large red dot on her nose and growled.

Another zit!? What in the world was breaking her out?

She scowled and stared herself down. This week was just going from bad to worst. She had already been caught naked by Vegeta and her ex-husband in her brother's room, gotten TWO blemishes, had to sit through the dreaded Q and A which always deemed incredibly boring and now she was late.

Real late.

Eighteen scrubbed her face hard, trying to make the offending bump disappear but all she managed to do was make it even redder. It was so red in fact that Eighteen thought she looked like Rudolph.

It the the stress, she told herself as she padded to the guest room in her brother's home that had become hers. Yeah, the stress of her job was unbearable. With so many of the workers not arriving in L.A for another few days and the other dozen who had quit because of the move, she had been layered with more responsibility then she could handle.

Adding on nosy reporters, her ex-husband and reoccurring nightmares coming back to haunt her and you'd have how much _actual stress_ had been placed on the blonde's shoulders.

Pip came bouncing into her room as she ironed her clothes, ranting silently to herself. The golden retriever wagged it's tail and watched her, head cocked to the side. Eighteen was in full rant now, throwing her hands in the air and shaking her fist.

Seventeen heard her mutterings as he passed her room. He blinked, backtracked and poked his head in her room. Hs hair was damp from his recent shoulder and he had a towel around his waist, upper body bare. He raised a eyebrow at his twin and exchange a look with Pip.

"Uh...Eighteen?" The blond made no move that said she had heard him. Seventeen tiptoed in and tapped her on teh shoulder, making her jump. "Sorry about that. I called your name but I guess you didn't hear me."

She had her hand to her heart. "So scare me to death why don't ya."

Seventeen gave her a boyish grin. It vanished however when he saw her nose. He furrowed his eyebrows. "What's that on your nose?"

She narrowed her eyes dangerously and he took a step back. "It's a pimple."

"You get pimples?"

"Doesn't everyone!?"

_Bulma doesn't_, the man thought absently. He was taken aback by it. Why had she popped into his mind? "You should relax." He told her carefully. "I haven't saw you break out in......well, I've never saw you break out."

"I'm just stressed." She waved if off and unplugged the iron. "I'll be back to my luxurious self after the week is done." She quickly changed into a dressy white shirt, a gray suit jacket and a gray dress. She grabbed her purse and stabbed her feet into heels.

"You wear heels?"

"YES! It's called being a businesswoman!"

"....You're a businesswoman?"

"Ye-No-Well....Sort of. I manage the- Oh, why am I explaining this now? I'm already late! UGH!" That said, Eighteen hurried out the room, down the stairs and out the front door. Seventeen heard a car door slam, the engine start and then it drove off.

He blinked and shook his head. "She's always so rushed isn't she Pip?" He turned towards the animal in question and let out a small squeak when he saw that Pip was chewing on one of Eighteen's shoes.

"Ohhhhhhhh," He groaned, trying to wrestle it from the dog. "Bad dog, bad dog! Do you want Eighteen to gut you? She will, ya know. Oh man, let go!"

* * *

"Vegeta," Whined the man in the passenger seat of their police cruiser. "I thought we were stopping to get some food?"

"Quiet!" The widow peaked male commanded. "We'll get food later. After this."

"After _what_?" Goku asked in exasperation. They had just dealt with two punks who had tried to break into a convenience store, been caught up in some baloney with gang fighting, had to arrest a drunk who was beating his wife, chased down 5 cars that were speeding and now, when they finally were on break, they weren't even going to get some lunch? Goku was starving!

"Would you just pipe down!?" Vegeta growled in annoyance. His partner huffed but did as told, folding his arms across his chest and leaning his head on the window pane.

Vegeta welcomed the silence with a sigh. He was just as fed up with life as Goku was at this point. It was fucking hard to be a cop in L.A, seriously. Some people claimed they did unlawful things just to abuse their power but that was bullshit. The truth was that they were damn good cops. They just had to work with the dark side of the city, the evil side of people. How much blood could one man handle?

A lot, apparently, considering how long him and Goku had been working as officers. It was just depressing at times. Damn depressing. Enough of it to harden a man. Enough to make a man go crazy. There wasn't enough breaks in the day for this shit.

And, with that, Vegeta was angry. Angry at his job but intending to take it out on something else. An easier target. The thing that had been clouding his mind since this morning.

The blue haired woman.

Goku watched his friend and partner turn a corner and his eyes widened, spotting the giant building of Capsule Corporation bloom into view, towering over the city as if it were a God. "We're going _there_?" He asked, pointing out the windshield.

"Strictly business."

"What kind of business?"

Vegeta heard the doubt in Goku's voice and he didn't like it. "Just.....business _okay_?" In actuality, he had no idea what he was going to do when he got there. Did he plan to complain as he had joked about earlier? Or was he coming for a more personal reason?

He deduced that it was the lather.

"Oh wow." Goku breathed in awe, putting his face to the window like a little boy. "Look at this! Where are we going to park?"

At first Vegeta raised an eyebrow, finding the question dumb but when he glanced out, he saw why Goku had asked. "Shit."

Capsule Corporation was_ packed_. To capacity and more. It was a buzz of activity with workers running in and out, reporters and cameras flashing, trying to get in or catch someone to attack them with questions. Furniture, huge and expensive looking, were being hauled in and some had been left outside on the curb. And this was just inside. Vegeta was afraid to see how the inside looked.

There were cars everywhere, some parked haphazardly on the grass, others in the huge parking lot. Vegeta searched the area with his eyes four times and couldn't find a space. He finally circled and came to a stop in a reserved parking space that had been blank.

"We can't park here!" Goku exclaimed.

"I just did." Vegeta smirked and got out of the car into the bright sun with the other male following his lead, mumbling angrily. He folded his arms across his chest and glanced around, trying to find a door that wasn't being watched by the paparazzi. Man, were they annoying.

He gave up and just strode up to a door with Goku close behind. They pushed their way to the front and were rejected by the guards that were standing in front of it. "Sorry, no one goes in." One guard said.

"Better luck next time buddy!" One reporter laughed.

"Are those the guys from CNN?" Another asked.

"Hey, get out of here! We were here first!"

Vegeta had a strong urge to punch each and every and every one of the scum bags in their faces.

"Wait, listen, we're a friend of Bulma's-" Goku was saying until he was cut off by the rambunctious group crowded around behind them.

"Yeah right!"

"POSERS!"

Vegeta rolled his eyes, flashed his badge and everyone got quiet. "This is official police business. MOVE YOUR ASSES."

"Nice idea." Goku said once they passed through, grinning like a goof. The inside, they feared, was just as hectic as the out. Maybe even more so. "Oh jeez, how can someone work here? I'd go crazy. How are we going to find Bulma?"

"Ask around." Vegeta stated with a shrug. When the widow peaked male made no move, Goku realized he had to do it.

"Excuse me Sir, I-" Goku watched the man he had tried to speak to hustle away. He blinked and turned to a woman this time, who was carrying a box. "Hey, can you tell me-" He furrowed his eyebrows when she walked by him like he was invisible. "Boy, people sure are rude here."

Vegeta was fed up now. He growled and grabbed the closest man by the lapels of his long, white coat and swung him around, pinning him on the wall above him. The man went white with fear. "Where. Is. Bulma. Briefs?"

The man looked from Vegeta to Goku, obviously distrusting of them. He looked like he had just peed his pants and was going to yell for help.

Goku gave him a reassuring smile. "We're friends of hers. Police officers too. We just want to talk to her."

"I don't know where she is." He told them.

Vegeta growled. "If you're lying to us," He started, flaring his jacket out enough so the man could spot his gun. "I'll be angry."

It seemed enough to get the guy to talk. "S-S-She's in her office...uh..conference room I mean..w-with a client. Fourth floor."

Vegeta smirked in triumphant and let the man go, causing him to drop to the floor in a heap. He gave Goku a nudge and the two went about finding the stairs.

"Thanks!" Goku called back to the man, who still was on the ground, regaining color. As soon as the two police officers disappeared from his view, he immediately pounded a button behind his head, alerting the entire building that there were intruders.

Vegeta and Goku both paused when they heard the siren go off, blaring throughout the building, a red light blinking in rhythm to it. They exchanged looks and decided, in the silent communication, to get the hell out of there.

They moved a millisecond too late. As soon as the two males spun around, dozens of uniformed officers came rushing towards them. Before either could pull out _their_ badges, they were wrestled to the floor and tied up with cuffs.

"Fuck." Vegeta sighed, his chin on the tiled floor, arms behind his back. He got pulled to his feet just as Goku did.

"Oh this is just great." Goku said sarcastically, his irritation finally getting the better of it. He always tried to be such a care free guy but the widow peaked male always seemed to bring out the worst in him. _Bad influence _was an understatement. "JUST GREAT! _I _wanted to get some food. Maybe a little McDonald's or even some Taco Bell but NO! You...YOU wanted to come down here and get _ARRESTED_! How in the hell do _police officers get arrested_!?"

"SHUT UP!" Vegeta yelled angrily. Then, he directed his anger at the other cops. "Would one of you check MY GOD DAMN POCKETS!? We're cops too!"

They didn't appear to believe him. Instead, they began ushering the alleged 'intruders' out.

"I'm serious!" Vegeta continued. "I'M OFFICER-"

"Prince. Vegeta Prince."

Every eye in the room who had been engrossed in the arrest, cop or worker, turned towards the feminine voice. Goku looked up, grinning and Vegeta scowled even deeper.

Bulma walked up to them, in a tight red dress that showed off her curves and high heels, hands on hips. Her hair was curled and hanging down around her shoulders. A small, know-it-all smile was planted on her face and it made Vegeta even madder, if such a thing was possible. His bad attitude didn't last long however after he trailed the length of her body with his eyes.

"Officers, they're telling the truth. I'm sure they have badges somewhere in their pockets. They probably used them to get in." She said, conversationally. "They aren't a threat." She sent Vegeta a look with that statement.

"Let them go?" One uniformed asked insecurely.

"Let them go."

* * *

_Okay, I'm not in love with this chapter but I'm hoping it's alright. Tell me some things; comments, suggestions, etc. I FINALLY know where I'm going with this._

_Expect an update soon._

_Review Please. ^_^ Ciao._


	12. Lights! Camera! Date?

* * *

**_Chapter Eleven_**

* * *

"Wow!"

Vegeta watched in disgust as his partner marveled at the large, widely decorated office of the blue haired heir. He cut his sneering gaze to the woman in question but she was collected, standing behind her desk, arms folded across her chest, a smirk playing across her lips. Vegeta was quite sure that her new, smug attitude was due to the remembrance of him in handcuffs, writhing on the floor. He narrowed his eyes angrily, grinding his teeth.

After being released from the CC officers, Bulma had lead them through so many winding, crowded rooms and hallways, Vegeta didn't think he would be able to make it back out to his car without guidance. Although, he'd never let her know that.

Now, the two L.A. police officers were standing before her desk, one openly drooling and the other not so much.

"You like?" Bulma directed this question to Goku, who was intensely interested in the baskets of fruits on a nearby table. He nodded.

"Can I?"

"Help yourself."

That was all he needed. The goofy haired male commenced to inhaling the food, rolling his eyes in pleasure after every bite. Vegeta, however, was rolling his eyes in annoyance.

Bulma smiled, finding Goku's child-like attitude endearing...in a weird sort of way. Although she hadn't known him long, she liked him. Which was more then she could say for the _other _male in the room who was currently glaring daggers at her. Turning her attention to Vegeta, she raised eyebrows. "Is there a problem?"

He scoffed.

She took that as a _'No.'_ "So what made you stop by? Missed me?"

He scoffed again. "Oh please. Don't flatter yourself, woman. There is nothing in this world that I could miss _LESS_ than you."

Bulma's smile turned into a frown. "Fine. So, would you like to explain _why_ you've _graced_ me with your presence?"

Her taunting tone did not go unnoticed by Vegeta. He found it both attractive yet infuriating. She was obviously much more confident in familiar territory. He stood his ground, folding arms over his chest with defiance. "Your _friends _visited my sister and me today."

She furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "My friends? What friends?"

Vegeta pulled up one of the many chairs around the room and took a seat, leaning back. "Your _paparazzi _friends."

There was a flicker of confusion on her face while she looked down at him then she frowned. "What do you mean?"

"They decided to annoy and irritate us by banging on our door early in the morning asking for information about _you_."

Realization finally hit her. "Oh, did they? I'm sorry about that. They can be nosy little buggers." She frowned after that, a bit angry that she was starting to sound like her father.

But Vegeta just sat there, eyes hard and unblinking.

Bulma blinked. "Is that all?"

"You know," Vegeta started, resting his arms on the chair, looking mighty comfortable. "Those _'little buggers'_ wouldn't have bothered us if it hadn't been for you and your _corporation_."

She narrowed her eyes dangerously, noticing his tone. Suddenly, something dawned on her face and she put hands on hips. "Vegeta," She spat out angrily. "Do NOT tell me that you came all the way over here to COMPLAIN to me about paparazzi." She felt extremely aggravated by the thought of that. Sure, she was sorry that they had to endure the maddening attitudes of the media but hell, now he had a taste of what she went through her whole life!

The idea of him coming here JUST to complain about people she had no control of made her mad. No, beyond that, it made her infuriated.

It was unbelievable how one man whom she hadn't known for more then a few days could goad her so easily.

"Why not?" He asked almost innocently. "It is your fault after all."

"Oh _reallllllllllllly_? Well I apologize Vegeta, I _really_ do. I'm so _SORRY_ that you had to deal with them. I mean, I only have to deal with them EVERYDAY of my life but no, really, you shouldn't have to put up with that. Hey! I have an idea; how about you sue me? No better! Sue the whole god damn company. Sue the paparazzi! Sue every fucking body!" All of the frustrations from the day exploded. Her fist were clenched, her eyes narrowed, her face red.

She needed this, she thought absently. Her day had been nothing but hectic and hurrying. She needed to vent some things. And, if Vegeta happened to be on the receiving end, then so be it. That was just a plus.

Goku, with a pear in his right hand and a peach in the other, turned his attention to the argument. Blinking and confused, he continued to eat but was now watching a bit warily.

Vegeta stood up, if only because he felt uncomfortable with her glowering down at him. He was once again attracted and annoyed by her attitude. Yet, this time, he was much more attracted then anything else.

This was what I've been looking for, he thought smugly. He knew she had spunk. She was a fighter no doubt and damn, it was hot when she yelled.

Although the bet was still fresh in his mind, he kept it at bay. He had no doubt that he could win it, considering that he'd probably see her more due to her friendship with his sister.

But then again, Vegeta knew that the game of love was just that; a game. Women enjoyed to be chased after all and Vegeta himself liked the chase. So maybe he shouldn't have come here. Maybe he should have let Yamcha, with his overeager attitude, make the first move or even Seventeen, the laid back, professional go first.

Bulma had her face in a threatening expression and Vegeta returned it. Fuck it, he thought. She was challenging him and he never stood down from a challenge.

"Well maybe I will sue you." He smirked, "Maybe I'll bring down this whole company. Or Maybe I'll just ruin your image. I'm quite sure I could do it,_ Ms. Briefs_." And it was the truth. After all, hadn't he already told those reporters some lies?

Bulma's anger dissipated and her shoulders slumped. She sighed and decided to give up. "Although I'm positive that it'd never hold up in court, I'll resent."

He furrowed his eyebrows to that. Resent? No! She wasn't supposed to resent. She was supposed to keep fighting.

"I'm way too tired to fight with you, _little man_." She mocked, making him sneer. "So, fine. What do you want?"

Vegeta raised one eyebrow as Goku sauntered back over to them, having finished off the last pieces of fruit. He, who had been completely oblivious for most of the time, took it as an opportunity to cut in. "What does who want?"

Bulma saw the puzzled look on the taller male's face and tried hard not to smile. He was just too lovable....in a weird sort of way, of course. It took her only a minute to guess that he had not been on the same page as Vegeta about coming here to complain. He was obviously just tagging along in his own world. "Vegeta here wants compensation for his morning being ruined so I'm going to offer him anything he wants. Money. Recognition. Anything. Just nothing degrading to my persona."

Goku turned to his partner with wide eyes as if to say, _What'd I miss?_

But Vegeta ignored him. His dark eyes were boring into her blue ones. His jaw clenched in spite.

"Well? Come on, hurry up, I have things to do." She rushed, running a hand through her blue locks. She was completely placid to this offer. She found that it would give them both something. Him; whatever he wanted and her; him leaving satisfied and never returning to bug her again.

Then again, she thought afterwards, Vegeta seemed like the type of man who never quit. A striking quality, no less but coming from a man as big headed as him diminished it and made it more into an aggravating quality. If he wanted to, Bulma guessed, he would find a way to annoy her against all odds.

Vegeta saw the offer as a ridicule. She obviously just wanted him to leave as quickly as possible so she was giving him what he wanted. It was ridiculous. He didn't take gifts from anyone. Especially not _her_. So what could he ask for that would directly affect her as well and help him on his mission?

The idea hit him instantly and he smirked. "A date."

Both Goku and Bulma looked confused. "A date?" They said in unison.

"Yep. One date. Tonight. You and me."

Bulma could only blink. She opened her mouth to respond but nothing was coming out. A date!? Her and Vegeta? Together?! Goku was grinning from ear to ear. Even though he was as perplexed as any one person could be, he found the request amusing. _I knew it_, the goofy haired man was thinking, _he does like Bulma!_

The widow peaked male didn't seem to notice his partner was still in the room however. His undivided attention was on the blue haired woman. "Is that a yes?"

"I..We-I...A date!?" She repeated.

"Yes." Vegeta sighed, sounding exasperated. "You said I could ask for anything as long as it isn't degrading to you. A harmless little date with me won't hurt your image, will it?"

She frowned. "Technically, it is pretty degrading." She muttered. Vegeta growled. "But fine, you're right. No matter how much I review everything though, I don't see why you'd want to go on a date with me. The last I knew, we were enemies."

"What made you think that?"

"You said you hated me."

"I never said that."

"Do you hate me?"

Vegeta rolled his eyes in an attempt to gain his composure and ground out through gritted teeth, "No."

"Hope that didn't hurt you too much." She said dryly.

"Yes or no?" He asked impatiently.

"I'm too busy today. Maybe next week?"

"_Today_."

Bulma pursed her lips. "Why today? Why can't it wait until later? I have a job, you know."

"Really? I don't see you doing much."

"Because I'm standing here talking to you!" She sighed, putting two fingers on the bridge of her nose and closing her eyes. "Fine, I guess. I'll go on a date with you tonight."

Feeling a sense of accomplishment, Vegeta smirked smugly.

"So you guys are DATING NOW!?" Came the excited question from Goku, who was bouncing up and down.

They gave him a look that showed that they had forgotten about him but before either could interject, something started to beep. Bulma looked down at an item in her pocket and then sighed.

"I have to go." She said, starting towards the door. "Goku, it was nice to see you again. Vegeta....have a good day. What time do I meet you tonight?"

"I'll call and let you know."

"Fine. What should I wear?"

"Clothes?"

Bulma rolled her eyes, gave up and just left out, leaving the two police officers standing in her office.

Goku immediately exploded. "So you and Bulma huh? I saw it coming! MAN! Wait until I tell Chi! Oh wait, won't she be mad-" He was abruptly cut off by Vegeta grabbing him roughly by his collar, pulling him forward until their noses were almost touching.

"Listen Kakarot," He started with fierce intensity. "You are not, I repeat, you are NOT to tell my sister about this event of any sort. If she asks, we've been driving around all day or at a club."

"But...what if Bulma tells her?"

"Kakarot. Are you listening to me? YOU are not to say a word. Let me worry about her."

"Okay." The taller man said in disappointment. Vegeta let him go and he brightened. "_Soooooooooo_, you and Bulma huh!?" He repeated cheerily.

Vegeta rolled his eyes and walked out, muttering, "You're starting to sound like a female, Kakarot."

* * *

"How are things going today Mr. Micheals?"

Richard Micheals looked up from his hands and gave the short, bald male a withered expression. "Not so good, Doc."

Krillin nodded patiently, waiting for the other man to start speaking whenever he felt he was ready. And sure enough, five minutes passed until Richard started, explaining how the relationship with his wife felt as though it was slowly falling apart.

Krillin was as professional as before, taking notes in his journal and asking questions but he didn't feel_ into_ it. Don't get him wrong, he loved his job and he loved to delve into the human psyche with a chance of aiding people in their lives but, these last few days had left him unnerved with what Eighteen's sudden appearance.

The thought of the woman made him shudder a bit. Not out of anger or fear but out of sadness. Out of exasperation. She'd been running through his mind ever since the 'shower incident.'

_Oh she had looked so lovely with all her pale skin and curves......_

The short man pushed it to the back of his mind and willed his brain to concentration on his long time client as he spoke about his urges that were getting uncontrollable. Urges to hurt his wife. Urges that frightened him to death.

"I...I just feel so lost." Richard was saying helplessly, holding his head.

_I feel you. "_Mr. Micheals, let me ask you this. Do you love your wife?"

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Of course I do."

"Why?"

Richard opened his mouth to respond but slowly closed it when he realized that he had no idea what to say. Instead, he just shrugged. "She's my wife." Was what he finally said.

"So you feel an obligation to love her?"

"Well...yeah. But it's much more then that. I...I guess I love her because well, I couldn't picture my life without her."

"You consider that true love?"

"Don't you?"

Krillin cleared his throat and scribbled some notes down. "It's hard to say for me. I think everyone has a different view on the subject."

"So what's your take? Man to man. No psycho babble stuff."

Krillin gave the man a calm look and with a shake of his head, he said, "Mr. Micheals, I don't think we should discuss this."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm your psychiatrist. I'm supposed to be helping _you_."

"Who's to say what could help me?" Richard shrugged. "Come on, this will be strictly between us. Off the record. I want to know, do you believe in love?"

Krillin was silent for a beat. "I believe in love. I do. I just don't believe in forever."

"What do you mean?"

"It means that no matter what might happen or what words might be uttered," Krillin sighed. "Love might not be enough."

* * *

It took Yamcha longer then he thought to make it to Capsule Corporation in the hustle and bustle of traffic, make it through the various groups of security guards and other people, indicate and show that he was indeed a Plumber hired to work there at this certain time and find where Bulma's office was.

Not only was he late but he was sweaty and tired and already ready to give up. This building was too big. Too many stairs. Too many people. He was exhausted and he hadn't even done any work yet. Who knows how many pipes there were to fix here?

That concern brought him back to the nagging that had been chewing away at the back of his head since she had first called.

She was successful, intelligent, fun, and beautiful. This was her estate. She owned this palace of a building, or at least was he heir to it. She as the numero Uno.

And he was a plumber.

An ordinary, average-Joe, unexciting plumber who had dreamt of becoming a famous basketball player once upon a time in his youth.

That was back in his high school/college days. When life seemed so much easier. When he thought he had forever to accomplish his goals.

That was before he hurt his hand. Before he knew that he'd never be able to play professional basketball. Before cold, hard reality crashed down around him.

Sighing heavily, he began his slow walk upstairs to where her office was supposedly located. Decked out in the company's blue jumpsuit should have showed others that he wasn't especially dangerous but nevertheless, two guards were blocking the entrance way leading to the next floor.

They weren't that big compared to Yamcha's 6'2 frame or pure muscle but they were big enough to completely cover the door behind them.

One held out a massive palm. "No ones allowed beyond this point."

Yamcha blinked, toolbox in hand. "Uh....Wait, I have identification..." He began digging in his pocket with his free hand, not at all aggravated by this being the up teeth time he'd had to produce it.

But the guards weren't having any of it. "No ones allowed beyond this point." Repeated the first.

Yamcha frowned. "Well why not? I was hired by Bulma Briefs her-"

"There was an incident with suspicious characters moments ago." Said the second one. "No one else gets passed."

He clenched the handle of his toolbox with force, his knuckles turning white. He started to open his mouth but suddenly, the door being blocked off was opened and blond hair came into his vision.

"Yamcha?" A blue eye peeked out over one of the guards' shoulders. "Oh, move." Eighteen pushed them out of the way and put hands on hips. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"Bulma called me in." He smiled.

Eighteen, who had just got in herself, didn't make a point of the man being late. Instead she spun around and motioned with her hand to proceed forward. "Yeah? Why would she call you?"

He frowned at her tone as he stepped past her up stairs. "Apparently, I'm the best at what I do according to my boss who threatened to fire me if I didn't get up and come here. That, however, was after he told Bulma to call and request I come in as well."

"Stuck in between a rock and a hard place huh?" The blond smirked.

"You could say that." The man muttered. He let Eighteen lead him to the blue haired woman's exact office.

"Voila." Eighteen swept her hands towards it. "Just go through that door. I'm off to run errands." Then she was gone.

Before Yamcha could open the door, it was wrenched open from the inside. He froze, staring into the surprised blue eyes of the blue haired beauty. He opened his mouth but nothing came out.

"Yamcha?" She smiled, cocking her head to the side. "About time you got here." She teased.

He laughed nervously and nodded. _Why the fuck am I freezing up now!? Yeah, she does look amazing in that dress. Wow....Ugh, stop! Speak now. Say something. Say anything! _"You look beautiful." _Wrong thing to say dumb ass. This isn't a date. It's a business appointment._

To say Bulma was taken aback would have been an understatement. She was speechless. "I-" She blinked, looked down at herself then at Yamcha then back down at her clothes. Finally, she laughed. "Thank you. Now would you like to come in or are you going to stand there gawking?"

It took Yamcha a second to realize she was joking and that the question was hypothetical. He quickly followed her inside and closed the door behind himself, telling himself to stop acting like an idiot and to be as fluid and cool as he had been at the bar.

But, then again, he had had some drinks then.

He scanned the room for some alcohol and found nothing. He did, however, marvel at the size of the office and how nice it was decorated. There were baskets sitting on various desks, some empty and some filled with fruits. A section off to the back, which looked to be a small kitchen, was cleaned spotless. A couch was off to the side, some chairs before her desks. Flowers around the windows.

"Nicee." He breathed, grinning.

"Why thank you. You're only the second person to compliment it."

"You just got it furnished?"

"Yep. Today, exactly. We've been busy if you haven't noticed." She rolled her eyes, smiling lightly at her own joke.

Yamcha smiled too. "So, what am I needed for, your highness?"

She pointed to the kitchen area. "The drain. It's dysfunctional or something, I don't know. It won't work properly. Think you can fix it?"

"Of course. I'm super plumber: Fixer of everything dysfunctional." Then he proceeded to march over to the kitchen, toolbox high in his arm.

Bulma laughed at the display, finding it surprisingly easy to get along with the man and feeling comfortable. His presence was....nice, warming. She walked over to stand behind him as he sat his tools down and began to fix the drain. She couldn't help but notice the strong muscles bulging from his sleeveless arms and the hard set of his jaw as he unloosened and tightened bolts.

She became lost in his work, completely forgetting that she had a million other things to do. Time rolled on quickly. Her eyes were glued to his forearms and chest and his thighs as they contracted....

"Bulma?"

Her mind snapped back to attention and she focused. He was sliding himself out from beneath the sink and he had one eyebrow raised. "Not that I mind you hovering on top of me like a stalker but could you scoot back a tinge? You're standing on my tweezers."

Bulma slanted her eyes. "Oh ha ha," She smiled, stepping back. He grinned and got the item. "Now you're the one making jokes? No fair. I liked having the upper hand."

He slid back under it, his voice muffled. "Yeah? Consider that power gone Ms. Briefs. You just caught me off guard before. I'm in my element now."

"Hm. A man who only gets confidence with a wrench in is hands. Typical."

Yamcha laughed and grunted as he finished tweaking something. He slid back out and smiled up at her. "Speaking of which, I have a question."

She raised her eyebrows in question.

"Would you like to go out on a date with me tonight?" The fact that he was asking her this out of pure pleasure with no regard to the bet had him a bit uneasy. Actually, in truth, he had barely remembered the bet until now. Yes, of course, he was attracted to Bulma. I mean, who _wasn't_? But he had taught himself years ago not to attach to a woman, no matter how sexy they were. And damn it to hell if Bulma wasn't sexy.

So, his initial plan came back to his mind and willed his mind not to think of anything else, warning his heart that if it interfered, it'd pay.

What she said as a response however, made his whole demeanor change. "Sorry..."Her voice was low, disappointed almost."I kinda already have a date tonight." She felt genuinely sad about turning him down. He seemed like such a nice guy. Nothing like the man who had conned her into dating him. "Maybe next week?"

But Yamcha wasn't listening. He narrowed his eyes a bit. "Oh. With who?"

"What?" She blinked.

"Who are you going out with tonight?"

"Uh...." She bit her lip and shrugged. "Vegeta. But it's not what you think. It's...complicated."

Yamcha was gone before she even said his name. Whatever real attraction had surfaced for her had gone underground. The plan was back full blast now and he realized that Vegeta was taking this as serious as can be if he had come down here before either him or Seventeen to get to her.

There would be no real feelings between Bulma and Yamcha. There couldn't be. He had to be raw and savage, getting in there quick and then getting out to win this bet. No emotions. No nothing.

"Alright." Yamcha said indifferently, avoiding eye contact and standing up abruptly. "Well, I'm done. I'll go now. We'll mail you the bill."

Bulma noticed the attitude change. "Oh well.....alright then." She walked him to the door, smiling lightly. "But next week it's a date right?"

"Maybe. I'll see if I have an opening." He gave her the best professional, nothing-attached smile he could muster and left. Next week would be a date alright. Next week and the next days after that. That way he'd gain her trust. Invite her over; get her drunk and most likely _win_. The male smirked to himself as he left Bulma alone in her office.

* * *

Chichi stood, arms folded across her chest, hair up in a messy bun, dressed in pajamas, shooting suspicious glares at the two men before her who were trying their best to ignore her.

"Where are you off to?" She asked her brother who was checking himself in the hall mirror. He had on dark slacks, a white dress shirt and a dark coat over it. It would have looked nice with a tie but he wasn't a tie type of man. He kept right on fixing his collar, not answering. "Hello!?" Chichi walked up behind him, staring at him through the mirror. "I asked you a question."

"Oh you did?" He feigned surprise while keeping his eyes on his collar. "I guess I just didn't hear you."

Chichi frowned. "What's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"What are you dressed up for?"

"A man can't get dressed up?"

Chichi glanced back at Goku who looked to be straining to keep his eyes locked on the television, his long body sprawled over the living room couch. "What girl are you going out with?"

"I'm not going out with a girl." Vegeta scoffed, as if the very notion was ridiculous. Chichi gave up on him and stalked over to the goofy haired man lying on the couch. She stared down at him, blocking his sight from the T.V.

Goku craned his neck every which way to see around her. "Uh...Chi, I can't see."

"Where's Vegeta going?"

Goku pulled at the neck of his shirt, visibly sweating. All three of them knew he was horrible with secrets and even more horrible at trying to hide something from the aggressive black haired girl. While the onyx eyed siblings blamed those faults on how blissfully truthful he was, Goku blamed it on his secret love for his best friend's sister.

Ironic how he could have kept **_that_** a secret for so long.

"Uh..I don't know." He struggled out.

Chichi pursed her lips and Vegeta turned to give her a victory smirk. The girl wasn't done yet however. She smiled sweetly which only caused Goku to sweat even more, teeth chattering nervously.

"Gokuuuuuuuu." She sung out in a baby voice. "I'll be very sad if you're lying to me."

Goku gulped and shot his partner a look of desperation that screamed, "HELP!"

"Let up on him, Chi." Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Kakarot doesn't know where I'm going."

Chichi looked from male to male and then finally, reluctantly, she gave up. "Fine." She huffed. "But I know you're going somewhere. All I ask is that you don't get into trouble and try to make it back here in one piece."

"You act as though I'm irresponsible."

Both Chichi and Goku gave him a knowing look and he only snorted in reply.

"Don't wait up." The widow peaked male muttered before walking out, slamming the door afterwards.

Chichi turned to Goku with a raised eyebrow. "So, now what? I don't have class tomorrow and I've studied my ass off."

Goku shrugged. "Wanna watch a movie?"

She smiled. "Sure."

Then she commenced to getting blankets while Goku picked out a couple of movies that could wade them well into the night. As Chichi snuggled into him in the dark of the apartment, the beginning of the Dark Knight rolling across the screen, Goku couldn't help but feel sensationally happy about this ordeal. He put his arms around the girl and got comfortable, feeling her head rest on his head.

* * *

Bulma sighed as she stared at herself in the mirror.

Vegeta had indeed called her afterwards to let her know missing information. After arguing about what car they could take, they finally agreed to ride _there_ in his car and she'd be able to go _home_ in her company limo. He has also said, almost indifferently, to wear something "Formal yet casual."

What the hell did that mean?

She optioned for the ankle length, cranberry, low cut, lacy dress she had on now. It wasn't very fancy but it was pretty. Her hair was up in a messy yet cute bun and she had applied a bit of makeup to her face.

She wasn't sure just how 'formal' he wanted her so she guessed this was enough. Besides, she wasn't exactly expecting to have fun tonight.

She had rolled the scene from earlier over and over in her head all day and still didn't see why she had agreed to this. Or why he had asked in the first place. It felt almost juvenile. Like he was bribing her to accompany him. And, to think, she could have had a date with Yamcha. He had looked so rejected when he had left. He was such a good guy. And here she was going out with a jerk.

Bulma felt more then guilty about leaving her father and mother to do the rest of the activities of the evening. They had been reasonable enough though, saying that they were glad she getting out. Many of the other employees had long since left, including her friends Tien and Eighteen and she had promised to help her parents with the last of the unpacking.

Yet now she had a date.

With Vegeta.

She stuck out her tongue in disgust. No matter how many times she tried to persuade herself that the man had could have some ounce of good in him, he always proved her wrong. They were just too different.

Vegeta was arrogant. He was an egoistical, overconfident, intense police officer who contained more pride then the _whole_ city of Los Angeles. And that was simply his first impression. She guessed he was probably much more cruel and haughty then he was coming off to be.

But Bulma was different. She wasn't as........

Her eyebrows knitted together when she realized she couldn't think of a word to finish that sentence with.

She wasn't as.....WHAT?

She wasn't as egoistical? No, she was not but she did have a pretty big ego. About her company, albeit and her wealth.

Overconfident? Well, she did have high expectations of herself every since she was a toddler. And she did think of herself as a pretty intelligent, if not the MOST intelligent, human being.

Intense?

Bulma gulped. Was she really as bad as Vegeta?

No, she thought immediately, not _as bad_.

But similar. Yes, oh so similar.

She sighed in relief when a horn outside honked. Finally. She could get this date over with and never have to think about these things again. As she descended from her apartment-like home on the third floor of the building, passing by some workers who gave her wide eyed looks and, from some of the braver males, catcalls.

She rolled her eyes and continued on, happy that she hadn't ran into her parents while leaving.

As she walked from the large, sphere shaped building, the stars shining down from the darkened sky, she was so intent on watching her step so she wouldn't fall; she neglected to see the shadow of a figure until it was too late.

"Having difficulty?"

Bulma screamed and jumped back, losing her balance in her high heels and wheeled backwards. She would have fallen if not for the strong arms that wrapped around her waist, keeping her on her feet.

"It's just me, woman."

She sighed in relief and then slapped him away. "What are you doing here in dark!? You gave me a heart attack! Jeez Vegeta-"

"I was waiting." He cut her off, sweeping his arms towards the vehicle behind him.

Her eyes widened at it. "A limo?" She received a nod from him. "What...Whose is it?"

"Mines. Well, for tonight that is. It's a rental." He smirked, obviously proud he got it.

"But Vegeta I have a limo we could have taken. Remember? I told you that."

He shrugged. "I wanted to get one myself."

_Of course_, she thought, eyes burning for no apparent reason, _he was too much of a man to allow the female to provide the fancy car. Chest full of pride. _She found the effort to be extremely sweet however. How much did that cost him?

"Oh Vegeta....thank you." It felt foreign to both of them. Him being nice, that is.

"Yeah whatever. Just get in." He muttered, opening the door. As she stepped past him to slide in, she finally flicked her eyes across his form and felt her cheeks heat up.

Was he still a jerk? Somewhat.

Had she misjudged him? Probably.

Did he clean up good? HELL YEAH.

* * *

Eighteen tiptoed into her brother's house, hearing the sound of the television as she sauntered through the kitchen, grabbing a piece of candy out of the refrigerator and hurrying out.

She felt tired and sore and her voice was going out from repeating, "No information is being given out at this time." to every reporter who bombarded her. The blond peeked out to see her brother laid out on the couch in the living room, head back and mouth open yet emitting no snores from it. The T.V was still on, flickering different colors of light into the room and across his face.

She smiled at how peaceful he looked and then the smile faded slowly. He had probably been waiting up for her all night. What time was it again? She had no idea. She got so caught up in her work sometimes she forgot what day it was.

Pitiful, the blond though with a growl, padding over to her twin, pulling the covers up around his chin and turning off the television. I'm a 32 year old workaholic. Great.

Missing Pip's tail by an inch, the mangy mutt sleeping soundly in front of the couch, Eighteen padded up stairs. As she kicked off her shoes and doe into bed, she wondered if this was all she was destined to be: A simple employee working under a five star company. Nothing more. Nothing less.

* * *

"Sweetie! I've been calling and calling. I'm so worried about you. Please, if you're okay, just call me back and let me know okay? Alright honey? I just want to know you're okay."

Tien held his cell phone in a death grip, teeth grinding together, staring at the wall of the hotel he'd been staying at for the last few days.

"I've been doing fine if you care to know. But your father, well he's not sticking to his diet" The older woman's voice was exasperated. "It's almost like he wants to have another heart attack."

The bald male took another gulp of the bottle of liquor he had in his hands, eyes wide and fierce, red rimmed. He was waiting for the inevitable. Shaking with the anticipation.

For some unfathomable reason, Tien was angry. Extremely angry. He had never been so damn angry in his whole life. Just one of those days, he had told himself before, just one of those days when you just feel down.

But no, he realized, this was much more then the regular funks he sometimes drifted into. This anger felt alive and it wanted to play.

The older woman continued, her voice contrastingly cheery as it echoed off the dreary, stained walls of the hotel with its ripped sheets. "And Maggie's back! Oh and her daughter is a darling! You'll have to meet her."

_Say it. Say it. Just say it. SAY IT!_

Finally, his pleas were met and his mother uttered quietly, as if she knew how much this would affect Tien. " Launch called and asked about you as well. She wanted me to tell you-"

Then he threw it.

Tien flung his cell phone against the wall with so much force, there was a resounding boom. Then he picked it up and began to smash it repeatedly against the floor, screaming angrily as he did.

All the while, his mother's jagged words engulfed the room, static entwined with it from the damaged device, saying over and over again, "Launch-Lau-Launch asked-asked about y-y-ou."

* * *


	13. Revealed

Whoa. Long time no update, hm?

Enjoy.

* * *

**_Chapter Twelve_**

* * *

Yamcha was multitasking.

Tapping his feet, cooking his dinner, watching television and talking on the phone all at once. It was a natural event for him. Alone, on a Sunday night, accompanied only by Jay Leno's demanding voice and the female voice in his ear telling him, although he already knew, that his electrical bill was due.

"I understand." He attempted to sound concerned but it only came out in a murmur. He was seemingly memorized by Jay Leno's speech. He thanked her for the notice, clicked the phone off and, almost simultaneously, the microwave beeped signaling his food was done.

As he grabbed the Lean Cuisine Meal and headed to the couch, preparing to eat his heart out, there was a knock at his apartment door.

He paused, stood stoic for a moment and then yelled, "It's open." Before slumping onto his century year old recliner and settling in. The door squeaked open and soon after, Gohan popped his head into the room.

"Big night?" The boy asked sarcastically, walking over to stand next to the sitting figure, arms folded over his chest.

"You bet." He answered, waving is free hand. "Go fetch me a beer while you're here."

Gohan did as told but not without a good roll of his eyes, throwing the cold can onto the man's stomach when he returned.

Yamcha flicked the can open, gulped down some of it, ate a spoonful of mashed potatoes and finished it all off with a hearty burp.

"Honestly, why aren't you married?"

Yamcha shot the child a glare at his sarcasm and turned back to the T.V. "What are you doing here anyway? It's almost ten. Shouldn't you be at home? Sleep? Or studying?"

Gohan gave a bark of laughter. "Who? Me?"

"Yes, _you_." He stuffed a piece of chicken in his mouth. "Look Gohan, I know you don't like to be lectured but you've got to get your act together or you're gonna end up in juvy. Or jail. Or somewhere worse."

"Somewhere worse?"

"Dead."

Gohan watched the man chug down some more beer. "Funny. Ironically, that's where you're headed too if you fill your lungs with that toxic."

"Hey," Yamcha stated sharply. "I'm a grown man with a job that doesn't pay enough to afford the shitty apartment he lives in, friends that are all much more successful then he is and a father that has completely disowned me." He took another swig. "I have a reason to drink. At least you have people who care about you."

Gohan's dark eyes narrowed dangerously but he didn't reply. He just took a seat on the shaggy floor beside the chair, stretched out his legs and concentrated on the show.

Yamcha, on the other hand, didn't notice the boy's sudden change in attitude. He thought he had nailed the boy right on the mark. After all, he had been adopted by a loving couple, right?

_Then why wasn't he over there with them now?_

The older man glanced down at the unruly child and sighed. Maybe Gohan was too big of a problem for them to handle, he speculated. "You staying the night?" Although his question was directed at the teenager, he was staring at the screen.

Gohan shrugged.

"You can if you want." Yamcha found himself offering. "I just don't understand why you'd want to spend time watching T.V with me."

Gohan looked up at him. "So why _are_ you home? Every other night and you'd be out until the early morning."

Yamcha didn't respond. He just simply shrugged as if he had no other logical answer. When the kid turned his attention back to Jay Leno, Yamcha sighed lowly to himself. He knew why he was home. He knew why he was trying to get drunk and stuff himself and rot his brain so he wouldn't have to think about what a certain two people were doing at the moment.

He _knew _what was happening right now between Vegeta and Bulma.

Or, coincidentally, it was the fact that he _didn't _know what was happening between Vegeta and Bulma that bothered him so much.

* * *

"So, where are we going?"

Vegeta kept his eyes focused on the window of the darkened limo, purposely ignoring the blue haired woman's question. She was sitting across from him in the large space so it was kind of hard to keep his eyes off of her. And, the fact that she was looking absolutely amazing didn't help either.

"You're not going to tell me?"

He rolled his eyes.

"Hello!?"

He finally glanced at her to see that she had narrowed her eyes.

"You know, when people normally go on dates, they speak."

She was almost perfect in all standards; the beauty, brains, personality, wealth, Vegeta thought to himself, if only she didn't _talk_ so damn much.

Bulma sighed and folded her legs angrily. She looked off towards the ceiling and let her mind wander. Obviously, Vegeta didn't like her. No matter what he might say, she saw that. So why in the hell had he asked her out? It didn't match up to her. This whole ordeal was already turning out bad. Now, looking bad, she wished she would have declined.

But, then again, he _had_ rented this limo. And who knows how much that must have cost him. And he had done it knowing that she could have easily produced one. What did that say about him?

He was a showoff.

Yes, she suspected that Vegeta was the type of man who liked to show he had the power and _money_, on occasions, to do anything he wanted. It had nothing to do with how much he liked her. It had to do with his own ego.

This train of thought led her to believe that this whole date was about him trying to expand his image on the city. Maybe he was just looking for exposure. He obviously liked the spotlight. Or at least, he liked to think he was the best. And what better way to show off then to date the owner of Capsule Corporation.

"So, why'd you ask me out if you aren't going to speak to me?"

"You know you talk a lot?"

Bulma turned to give him a wide eyed look of disbelief. "Excuse me?"

Vegeta rolled his eyes and mimicked a mouth with his fingers. "Blah. Blah. Blah. That's all you women ever do."

The blue haired woman puffed up her cheeks, preparing to give the insolent little man the largest, longest, loudest berate of his short life if he had not continued his sentence.

"Can't you just sit back, be quiet and take in the moment?"

Bulma blinked, let his words sink in and then turned towards the tinted windows. Faintly, past them, she could see the blurred lights and activity. And, for a minute, she let herself get lost in the insignificant thoughts of the world; like wondering what a guy walking off the sidewalk was doing or where a car was heading.

"What in the world is the matter with you?"

Bulma blinked and snapped her eyes towards the man, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. Then, she saw what he meant. She had begun to subconsciously twirl her hand around in the air. It was something she did when she got deep into thought. Most times, she didn't realize she was doing it until someone mentioned it.

"Oh," She laughed quietly to herself. "I was just thinking."

"Of what?"

Bulma shrugged, still a bit embarrassed about her habit. "Just...stuff. Life. You know."

"You do that with your hand when you think?"

"Yeah." She waved it off. "Old habit." He raised an eyebrow and Bulma wondered what he was thinking. "So, what were _you_ thinking of?"

"What do you mean?" He questioned.

"You've been quiet the whole ride."

"I wasn't thinking. I was ignoring you." Vegeta smirked.

Bulma's smile faded, transforming into a frown. She turned her body sideways, crossed her arms under her breasts and looked off out the windows in anger.

"You look angry." He commented.

She didn't say anything.

"Oh come one, don't tell me that _you're_ ignoring _me_ now."

"No Vegeta, I'm not ignoring you because I'm not as _childish_ as you." He sneered at that. "I'm just looking out the window. Wondering where the hell you're taking me."

Vegeta let a slow smirk spread across his face. "You really want to know?" She nodded. "I'm taking you to a junkyard. There, I will kill you."

The widow peaked male couldn't help but to burst out in laughter from her expression of sheer terror and disgust. "You are sick!" She cried out.

"Oh come on, it was a joke. You know; Haha."

"It most certainly was not funny."

"I thought it was hilarious."

"Surprising." Bulma spat out sarcastically. "And, I'll have you know that it's virtually impossible to harm me. It took a full three hours of persuading to convince my father not to send guards to follow me tonight. But I'm not sure if he really complied. Who knows, they could be trailing us as we speak."

"I bet you have _tons _of fun." Vegeta said flatly.

"There really isn't room for_ fun _in my line of work, Vegeta. I have priorities and responsibilities."

"Oh well that sounds _so_ much more fun."

She bristled. "Is everything amusing and a big joke to you?"

Vegeta simply shrugged, refusing to either agree or disagree, only causing her irritation to grow.

They rode in silence for the rest of the ride; with Bulma's anger slowing dying down and Vegeta being stoic. Soon enough, the limo came to a slow halt. They had reached their destination. She listened to Vegeta move to open the door and looked up when he offered his hand.

"Ready?"

His voice had been its usual husky, deep and raspy. But, for some reason, Bulma thought she had heard a certain softness in it that hadn't been there before.

"Woman, are you listening!?"

If it had been there, it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Bulma frowned, took is hand and let him guide her out of the door. When she had stepped out completely, she turned to look at the location and gasped.

Vegeta smirked and watched the woman marvel at the beautifully decorated building.

* * *

A scream punctured the quiet stillness of the room. Heavy footsteps resounded afterwards as the woman pounded down the hallway, running from unseen evil. She wrenched open a door but only to come face to face with the faceless shadow of a man holding a ridiculously long knife.

Chichi flinched when the knife penetrated the female's chest and snuggled closer to the safe haven of Goku's solid chest. Although they both knew that she was terrified of gory movies, it didn't stop them from choosing the most bloodiest of them all.

Guilty pleasure, they both thought. Chichi; liking to be scared shit less. Goku; liking how she cuddled closer to him whenever they watched one of the flicks.

The only downfall was that Goku was not at all scared by the movie. Hell, he wasn't even entertained. And when the police officer wasn't being properly amused, he was prey to mightier urges.

Like sleeping.

With his head lying against the back of the couch, the cover thrown messily over Chichi and himself, his hand around her shoulders for comfort, Goku was peacefully asleep, mouth open, in dream land.

But, when Chichi couldn't help but let out a sharp scream, the man came awake instantly in a panic. He shot to his feet, almost toppling her off the couch and looked about the living room in a daze, remote control in his hand as a weapon.

"Goku!" The younger woman whined, eyes narrowing. "Jeez, what's the matter? It's just a movie." She stated.

Goku tilted his head to the side in confusion but then realized his mistake. _Just a movie_, he thought in a scoff, _says the girl who was screaming. _"Sorry...I guess I just..." Then he shrugged helplessly, as only he could do, and retook his seat beside her.

Chichi yawned and leaned back into him, checking the clock on the wall. "It's getting kind of late. When did Vegeta say he was coming back?"

Goku gulped. "Uh....I'm not sure. I think his exact words were;" He deepened his voice to imitate the widow peaked male. "'Don't_ wait up.'"_

Chichi giggled innocently. "Yeah? That sounds like him." She yawned again. "I hope he's _alright_. He should be alright _wherever_ he is, _right_?"

Goku, seeing past her transparent attempts at trying to get information, sighed. "Sure Chi, I'm positive he's fine."

"Positive?"

He glanced down at her raised eyebrows and smiled. "Positive. Now come on, lets watch the end of this crappy-Uh...I mean, _awesome_ movie."

"Goku, I heard you snoring."

He laughed nervously and put one hand behind his head. "Oh..Haha, yeah, uh...I was actually...Uh...resting my eyes and...Uh...working out my lungs."

The onyx eyed girl gave him an unimpressed yet amused look. "_Righttttttttt_." She nodded with a shake of her head.

He winked at her. "You should try it. It makes the movie that much better."

The woman rolled her eyes and laughed, slapping him playfully on the chest before turning back to the horror fest. And, in the back of her mind, for no apparent reason, she thought, _he's cute like that. When he's joking._

While Goku thought at the same moment, _she looks beautiful when she smiles._

* * *

"Oh my god, I didn't even know L.A had restaurants like this!"

Vgeeta gave the blue haired woman an incredulous look as they followed the waiter to get seated. She needed to get out more.

After she praised and stared at the building for what seemed like hours to the man, they had finally ventured inside. And after Bulma had gotten a look inside, she had begun her awing all over again.

"Are these _real_ oak floors?!"

"This place must have cost you a _fortune_..."

"Do we need reservation!?"

"Oh jeez, look at those _elegant _lights!"

"Vegeta, I feel too _under dressed_."

The man growled low in his throat in response to all, excluding telling her that she looked fine. Yet she still wrung her hands as she sat down at a clothed little table at the back of the place. Quiet murmurs began to get a bit louder and many eyes wandered over to the couple.

"Do you think they're staring because they know me?" She asked in worry.

"No. I think they're staring because you're over exaggerating." It was much more logical, his statement. After all, Capsule Corporation might be a world re known establishment but it had only gotten her a few days ago. And no amount of paparazzi and exposure could spread the word that fast. Could it?

Bulam frowned a bit. "Well sorry if I'm _embarrassing _you, Vegeta."

Before the man could retort, the waiter came back and looked them over, gave them their menus but did not leave afterwards to let them decide. Instead he eyed the blue haired woman.

"Is there something you want?" The widow peaked male growled angrily at the man who happened to look pretty handsome. He jumped, caught at the act and bowed in apology.

"Sorry, I just thought I recognized her...." He turned to Bulma again. "Bulma Briefs?"

After shooting Vegeta an ' I told you so' look, she smiled politely. "That's me."

Her admission seemed to be a fatal mistake. Madness broke lose. All the well dressed, seemingly good Samaritans of the restaurant crowded her, pushing each other out of the way to get one word at her. Before she or Vegeta could react however, the door to the building was burst open and in came a dozen or so bodyguards.

In all the commotion, with bodyguards throwing civilians out of the way to get to the blue haired heiress, Vegeta narrowed his eyes, grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her out the backdoor, unbeknown to anyone.

In shock, the woman stood still for a moment before blurting out, "Oh Vegeta! I'm so sorry; I didn't know they'd do that! Oh god I-" She stopped short and furrowed her eyebrow however when he stated to chuckle. "What's so funny? I ruined the whole night!"

He looked at her, saw her mussed her hair was, how her makeup was smeared, how part of her dress was ripped and, somehow, became much more attracted to her. He wondered how bad he looked himself.

"No you didn't." He shook his head with a smirk. "Well, yeah you kind of did. Really though, all you had to do was deny that you were who you were and the evening would have gone just fine." Yet, he didn't care. Actually, he thought he couldn't care about something as _less _as this evening getting ruined. Restaurants and dressing up hadn't been his style anyway.

"Deny?" She huffed. "Why do that? I'm proud of who I am."

"I never said you weren't. It seemed to me that you were just trying to show off though."

Bulma sputtered and gave the shorter male a glare. "I...I was not!"

He just gave her a knowing look.

"I'm not a workaholic, okay?" She said testily.

"I didn't say you were."

"Yeah well, you're implying it! You've been implying it all night!" She folded her arms below her breast. The action made them stick out more, much to his awareness "I just take pride in my work and my job. I enjoy what I do and I do it well."

"You enjoy moving constantly from city to city, dealing with paparazzi, being on guard 24/7?" Vegeta raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"There's more to it then that!" She huffed, suddenly feeling defensive. Strangely, whenever he pointed out the negative in her job, she always jumped at the chance to defend it. So, she did what she always did when someone spoke badly about her job: she countered and turned the conversation towards them. "And what about you, huh? You can't possibly have time to relax what with all the crime happening here."

"That's why we work in shifts. And, for the most part, it gives each of us some free time." Vegeta gave her an unimpressed look. "Besides, in my line of work, if you never ever relax, the jobs bound to get to you." He folded his fingers into the shape of a gun, aimed it at his own skull and mimicked pulling the trigger.

Bulma bit her lip but still managed to keep her eyes narrowed. Suddenly, in the background, they heard sirens and stomping.

"Come on," Vegeta grabbed her wrist again and hauled her away from the bustling place.

"Where are you taking me?" She asked haughtily.

"To the junkyard." He smirked when she gasped behind him. "I'm taking you to a _real_ place. With no stuck up rich people and stuffy atmosphere."

"We're going on foot?"

"It's not far from here." He glanced back at her with a raised eyebrow. "Besides, I'd rather not be caught up in all that commotion."

* * *

When they entered the door, Vegeta was aware of Bulma's wide eyes and fearful look and he didn't blame her. As much as he enjoyed this particular bar, he didn't think it was especially inviting.

So why had he brought her here?

Simple: It was natural.

This was his type of environment. He didn't feel like pretending to be someone he wasn't just for her benefit. Besides, at this point, he was sure that she didn't care.

Taking off his dress coat, he laid it on her bare shoulders which caused her to glance at him.

"Fun, huh?" He asked sarcastically, motioning around. Bulma scoffed, glanced at the numerous men with tattoos patrolling the place and couldn't even muster up a nod. "Just relax and have fun."

"They won't shank me, will they?"

He rolled his eyes. "Only if you look at them." He smirked again at her frightened expression and shook his head. "_Relax_." He pushed her forward, if only to keep her out of reach of all the probing eyes. Once at the bar counter, he wondered if bringing her to such a rough place had been the smartest thing to do.

"Give me the usual." Vegeta told the bartender who, apparently, knew exactly what the widow peaked male meant. He filled a glass, turned to the wary looking Bulma and asked,

"What about her?"

Vegeta gave her a look. "You drink?"

In response, she told the bartender, "Give me something strong."

Vegeta raised his eyebrows. "Wow. Good girl gone bad."

She gave him a shaky smile.

When their drinks arrived, Bulma wasted no time taking large gulps out of it. She had never been a very heavy drinker but stress kept piling on top of her shoulders and alcohol took away most of it. She was quite sure that, early tomorrow morning, she'd see her picture on the front of the newspaper depicting the awful restaurant scene. Besides, her bodyguards were probably frantic.

Vegeta could only stare at her as he slowly sipped whatever concoction was in his glass. He couldn't figure her out. Couldn't put her into one category. Couldn't classify her.

At first, she seemed like the usual, rich, spoiled, stuck up woman that had everything from beauty to brains. That woman had been nothing to him. Just serving her purpose of helping him win a bet to prove a point to his friends.

But now, _now_ she was drinking. A lot. And she seemed almost...normal. Almost like she could fit in anywhere with a little shot of wine. That woman, _this woman_ he was seeing now, wasn't so bad. She was actually kind of...appealing.

And damned if that wasn't scary.

"This is my song!" She heard the blue haired girl shout shrilly as an upbeat tempo came on, booming from the surround sound around the bar. He gave her a look of amusement mixed with disbelief as she jiggled in her stool, his coat draping over her. Someone was a little tipsy. "Let's go dance!" She pleaded, grabbing his hand.

Vegeta could only bark up one chuckle before she dragged him into the middle of floor.

* * *

As the credits finally graced the screen, signaling the end to the movie, Goku silently thanked the heavens. He had fallen asleep a total amount of 10 times, all to be woken back up by the black haired friend of his.

He was too spent; he could barely get up so Chichi had simply suggested he stay the night. To that, he happily agreed.

As they both spread out covers on the couch, Chichi noticed the sleep clouding the man's eyes and most likely, his mind. With a devilish smirk, she decided to play dirty.

As the tall man got all snuggled in, set on one sleeping position, the girl whistled innocently while she turned off the television. Goku had already closed his eyes.

"Man, I sure wish I knew where my brother had gone."

She only got an incoherent mumble from under the sheets.

"I mean, I _really_ wish I knew where he was at right now." She said louder, walking to tower over him.

More mumbling.

"He looked real handsome dressed up, didn't he?" As expected, she didn't get an answer. "I wonder_ who_ he got dressed up for. What if they don't like how he looks?"

"Hnadndsbulmadsdsdjksdprobablykslasslikedklakait."

"What was that?" Chichi leaned down to hear better.

"I said, Bulma probably liked it."

Her black eyes grew to the size of bowling balls and her mouth came open. BULMA? Her brother was dating Bulma? Without her knowing!? How dare he!

Goku didn't realize his slip up until the lights flickered back on. His eyes snapped open and he groaned, "Oops." Before Chichi twisted his ear painfully.

* * *

Vegta glanced down at the woman lying across his lap as the limo rumbled over the bad roads of L.A. Out of request; the limo driver had taken the back streets to get back to Capsule Corporation so as to not attract attention. The police were still hanging around the restaurant however and a quick flash of Vegeta's own badge helped them leave.

But of course, that was_ after _him and Bulma had gone to the club. And after she had gotten drunk and danced her heart out. He smirked at the memory. Luckily, she looked so trashed, no one recognized her.

And, as soon as she sat down in the soft cushioned seats of the limo, she had fallen out instantly. Vegeta had to grab her in order to keep her from toppling onto the floor.

Now, as the vehicle came to a stop outside of the Compound, he nudged her awake. She whined and squatted his hand away. He rolled his eyes and wondered when the whole night had suddenly changed drastically. At first, he had set out on charming her and, in turn, winning the bet. Now, he was babysitting her and afraid if she got hurt.

_The bet._

He glanced down at the peaceful looking, vulnerable woman in his lap and sighed heavily.

"Woman," He growled, nudging her more forcefully. "Get up. You're home."

She smiled in her sleep and held on to his shirt. "I don't wanna go home. I wanna stay with you."

"No you don't."He stated through gritted teeth. "You want to go inside and go to sleep."

"Carry me," She mumbled tiredly. "I'm tired."

And, with great frustration and reluctance, the man did as told. It took him longer then he expected to find which floor held her bedroom and still he wasn't completely sure until he saw 'Briefs Residence.' on one of the doors. Probably to remind the workers. Or even themselves, the building was huge after all.

As he sat her on the couch, since he was too exhausted to find a bed, he gently got her out of his coat and laid it on top of her.

Afterwards, he walked out with a shake of his head, wondering why in the hell he had just done all that. He should have just left her on the curb. Yet, he_ couldn't_ have. Why was that so?

Lost in his own thoughts, he didn't hear her giggle innocently in her drunken induced slumber, seemingly speaking to herself, "He's not even that bad of a guy....."Then she was out like a light, is coat being the only protection and cover she needed.

* * *

The light still being on when he arrived home gave Vegeta the impression that something wasn't right.

He glanced about suspiciously, threw his keys on the desk beside the front door and walked inside to find his sister sitting on the couch, arms folded, a knowing expression on her face with a guilty looking Goku beside her, avoiding all eye contact.

"Hi, big brother. How was your date?"

Vegeta instantly shot his partner a death glare that he didn't see yet he still winced from her words. "What date?"

Chichi stood up with a sigh and flounced over to stand before him, eyebrows raised. "Don't play dumb. I know you were out with Bulma. AH!" She interrupted him from responding with a hand. "Don't try to deny it. And you don't even have to explain it. I'm not mad you two are dating. I am ticked however that you tried to keep it a secret from me." She smirked. "Hah. Thought you could mess with the master? _Please_."

Vegeta rolled his eyes.

"Just don't do anything stupid, okay?" She flicked him on the nose and then skipped off to her room.

Hm, he thought in surprise, that wasn't so bad. Then, turning to Goku, the man scowled.

"She got me when I was sleepy, Vegeta! I swear! I'm sorry!" The man instantly said in his defense.

Vegeta simply rolled his eyes again and passed by but not without giving the taller male a sharp slap on the head.

"Ow!" Goku whined, holding the offended spot. "Man! You guys are _violent_!"

* * *

Whew. Long freaking chapter. And yes, the other characters who were featured in this chapter will be returning. Duh, right?

"D4 has terrible run on sentences."

Do you agree? I'd just like to know.

Well anyway, there ya go. R&R.

And if the next suspenseful chapter keeps you from sleeping at night then well, I've done my job.

If not, then go on to bed dumplings. ^_^

-D4


	14. Front Page

^_^ Hey! Back for more BOL?

I hope so.

Enjoy.

* * *

**_Chapter Thirteen._**

* * *

Her shaking hands opened the cabinet above the sink. There were so many products lying around she had to push them out of the way. Finally, she saw the initial adjective. Grabbing a hold of the small container of pills, she uncapped the top and then spilled a few into her open palm.

Then she threw them back into her mouth, only washing them down with a splash of water from the faucet. Afterwards, she sighed, placed the pills back amongst all the dental floss and teeth whitener and closed the cabinet shut. The thought of her brother finding them didn't cross her mind. And, even if he did, he wouldn't suspect anything foul.

He wouldn't suspect how fatefully vital they had become to her well being.

With a quick brushing of her teeth and washing of her face, Eighteen exited the bathroom, feeling much better then when she had first entered.

Much more better.

----------

As Seventeen hurriedly raced down the stairs, his suit thrown on askew, his hair still wet from a shoulder, briefcase in hand, he passed by a still sleeping pip and poked his head into the kitchen to see his blond haired twin sitting at the table humming as she ate some kind of cereal.

He raised an eyebrow at her mood, wondering when in the hell she had been so happy in the morning. Why, just yesterday, hadn't she been yelling and fussing about being late?

Unfortunately, he didn't have time to mull it over any longer less _he _waned to be late. As he sat down his briefcase, he began to search for his shoes. Under the sofa, under the sofa cushion, under the desk, behind the T.V, around the hound lying on the floor. They were no where to be found.

He sighed in frustration, on his hands and knees as he felt around under the couch again. As he continued, the house phone began to ring.

"Eighteen! Could you get the phone?" He asked though clenched teeth, straining to stretch his arm underneath the piece of furniture.

The woman, weirdly, skipped out of the kitchen, shot him a questioning look but said nothing as she grabbed the device in the cradle placed on the desk beside the couch.

"Hello?" Her voice was lighter to Seventeen; cheerier.

"Eighteen?"

"Yamcha?" She blinked. "What do you want? It's only a few minutes after nine. Shouldn't you be having a hangover?"

"Haha." The man on the other line said sarcastically. Unbeknown to her, he thought, he _did_ have a hangover. "How I have missed your sarcasm, Eighteen."

"Did you? I'm flattered."

"Just put your brother on the line." Yamcha said flatly.

"Someone's grumpy." She dropped the phone on Seventeen's head which caused him to groan and smiled sweetly. "It's for you."Then she slid back into the kitchen to finish her breakfast.

The dark haired twin rubbed his head, growled and picked up the phone. "Yeah?" He asked gruffly,

"You sound like a ray of sunshine."

"Funny. Ironically, that's exactly what I was thinking about my sister."

"She sounds....happier, huh?"

"Sorta." Seventeen sighed as he pushed himself into a sitting position. "So what's up?"

Yamcha's voice darkened just a tinge. "Did you hear? About Bulma and Vegeta?"

"Uh...no."

"They went on a date last night."

Seventeen rolled his eyes at his friends' words. Why in the hell should he care? "_And_?"

"Do you think they slept together?"

_The bet. _Recognition flickered back into Seventeen's mind and he rolled his eyes again. They were really taking this serious, weren't they? Well, it was time for his moment of truth. "Yeah about that...."

"What?" Yamcha asked suspiciously.

"I quit."

"You what-"

"I _quit_. It's kinda....juvenile and childish and just plain dumb. I mean really, we were all so drunk that night. I didn't think you guys would really _continue _with it. Besides, Bulma's pretty cool. Just stop before someone gets hurt."

"What? No ones going to get hurt, Seventeen. This game is completely harmless. Think about your rights if you win, man. All your _bragging rights."_

"Seriously, don't you have anything better to do?"

"NO!" Yamcha exclaimed in exasperation. "Come on, you can't chicken out now! We can't let that little troll win."

"Listen to yourself dude, you sound insane right now." Seventeen sighed and then lightened up when he spotted his shoes. "Alright, I have to go now. And remember, I quit. I'm no longer in the little game or whatever the hell it is. I suggest you guys do the same. Oh and, by the way, feel free to relay this conversation to Vegeta. See ya."

Yamcha stared at the phone in disbelief long after his friend hung up. He should have known. Seventeen wasn't the type to go along with something like this for very long. Quite literally, he was just a wuss. And no, Yamcha didn't think continuing to do this was insane. It was called 'commitment.' Something Seventeen had never gotten used to.

Yamcha was determined to win. If only to show his friends up.

Turning to the sleeping figure of Gohan, who he had placed on the recliner, he sighed. He then turned, padded towards the foyer, opened his apartment front door and grabbed the newspaper.

As he closed the door with the heel of his foot, Yamcha ran his eyes across the front page and instantly froze when he recognized the woman on the front. His eyebrows came up and he shot his eyes to the headline.

When he read it, his jaw dropped.

---------

"Oh my..." Came the murmur from Dr. Briefs as he re-read the article on the front page of the Tuesday newspaper. He did a 'tsk tsk' sound with his tongue, and uttered another, "Oh my." before spinning around in his chair and shooting his wife a worried glance.

"What is it, dear?" His wife, Bunny Briefs, asked happily as she poured coffee into his cup. The couple were in the largest apartment that had been built in the Compound that they had quickly claimed as their own. Although it was sort of _like_ an apartment, there were still quite a few rooms residing _inside_ of it and, at the moment, many weren't furnished yet. Actually, aside from the kitchen, living room, a few bathrooms, their bedroom and their daughter's, none of them were.

And, even though there was a round table, cabinets, counter tops and a refrigerator, all the other excess items hadn't been placed in yet. Bunny had had to bring in her own coffee maker, all of the cabinets were empty and a few snacks adjourned the fridge.

Dr. Briefs blew out a long sigh and set the paper down on the table. "Where is Bulma, dear?"

She blinked and pointed. "On the living room couch sleeping like a rock. She got in pretty late." Lowering her voice, as if she feared someone else would hear although no one else accompanied them, she said, "I don't know what happened but her dress is tore and her make up is horrid. Good thing that short man brought her home."

Short man? Dr. Briefs tried desperately to conjure up a name for the date that Bulma had explained.

Luckily, Bunny continued. "Vegeta! That was his name. Oh, he is such a cutie. And he even left his jacket to keep her warm! Such a sweetie. I would have came down and shown him where her room was but I didn't want to ruin the moment." Then she winked at her husband.

He simply raised an eyebrow, clearly confused. It didn't take him long to realize that his wife had probably _seen _them come in last night. And, according to her, the man (Vegeta) had helped her in some way?

No matter, the old man thought with a roll of his eyes, as long as Bulma didn't wake up and see the front of the paper, they were fine.

"Dad? Mom?"

The adults spun around in their seats to stare at the blue haired woman in question. The coat belonging to Vegeta was still draped across her shoulders, her hair was wild and uncombed, her eyes were bloodshot, her make up was smeared all over her face and her skin was pale.

She looked like a zombie.

Dr. Briefs instantly grabbed the newspaper as Bunny flinched. "Bulma sweetie, "Her mother said softly."You look...sick. Are you feeling alright?"

Bulma's right eye twitched before she could stop it. Leave it to her mother to make her feel even worst then she was already feeling. She slumped onto a chair across from her parents, sighing heavily and oblivious to her father's hurried attempts to gather the newspaper. "Do I really look that bad?"

Her mother nodded with a pained expression.

Good. Because she felt pretty bad. Her head ached, her back ached, her face ached and, for the life of her, she couldn't remember what had happened after her and Vegeta had gotten to that run down bar.

"You're lucky Vegeta brought you home." Voiced her mother for the second time that morning.

Bulma looked up slowly to stare at her and raised an eyebrow. "He did? Wait, you saw?" She got an excited nod from Bunny and cocked her head to the side a bit in surprise. Wow, she thought, he took me home? And most likely, he had carried her. Or, at least, pawned her off on some bodyguards.

"Speaking of which, the bodyguards told me you disappeared." Came her father's stern voice, as if he had read her thoughts. The blue haired girl gave him a look of shame which only made him scowl deeper. "They were frantic. Running around trying to track you down. How many times have I told you-"

"Okay, jeez, I get it. I made a mistake. But, come on dad, can I at least have one day without knowing someone's looking over my shoulder?"

Before the man could respond, Bulma noticed the balled up paper before him. She snatched it before he could grab her and opened it up, curious to see what he was trying so hard to hide.

"Wait, Bulma, don't-!"

At first, the blue haired woman's face was placid. Then, drastically and slowly, it morphed. Anger, surprise, irritation, depression and then finally rage.

Both of her parents plugged their ears when she let out a frustrated scream.

---------

"VEGETA!"

The widow peaked male groaned underneath his sheets and tried to drown out his sister's yells by covering his face with two of his pillows. But it was no use when the covers were snatched off his form and the pillows were yanked out of his tired grip.

He gave his sister a glare but was a bit taken aback when he realized he was receiving an even harder glare from her.

"What?" He rasped out, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and sitting up. A paper was shoved in his face before he could even stand up.

"Look. At. What. You. Did."

Vegeta snatched it away from her and read it for himself, only to end up smirking.

On the front, quite largely, was a picture of Bulma. To say it wasn't an attractive photo was an understatement. It depicted her after the large commotion at the restaurant, fumbling out of the door in a mess with a twisted expression on her face. Vegeta assumed the hand around her wrist that had been cut off in the picture belonged to him.

"'Bulma Briefs, Co- founder of Capsule Corporation, was seen last night at Chez Puerz on Dougon street. After what seemed like an uproar of sorts concerning the heir, the female was seen running out of the restaurant and disappearing into the night. Afterwards, the owners of the restaurant say that along with some of their silverware turning up missing, several faculties were injured. Locals say that their had been a young gentlemen accompanying her but not much is known about who he was, where he is now or what relationship he has with the heir. The owners demand payment for this devastating evening.'" Vegeta read out loud, eyebrows furrowing. "Oh come on," He turned to his sister who had hands on hips. " 'Not much is known about him.'? They didn't even know my_ name_?"

"Vegeta, this is NOT FUNNY!" She screeched. He laughed and threw the paper aside.

"Oh please. That's paparazzi. They'll write anything, isn't that what you said? Besides, none of that was _my_ fault. The woman told some random guy who she was and they crowded her. What was I suppose to do?"

"No, that isn't the _best _part." Chichi growled, grabbing it again and holding it up to skim through the article. " 'Along with this unsettling event, earlier in the day, there were reports from a young man about Bulma Briefs as well. Such things were said about her being _spoiled, rotten_, and the _worst human being to walk this green Earth_. These accusations are putting more things into prospective as we investigate the Chez Puerz disaster.'" Chichi shook the paper in his face. "Sound familiar to you? _'Spoiled, rotten'_? That's what _you _told those nosy reporters yesterday morning!"

Vegeta let out a frustrated sigh, grabbed it back again and skimmed it over while saying, "I didn't even say those exact words. They did not quote me at all. Aha! Look, "He hit the paper."They didn't even put my name in here. It says 'Anonymous.' I swear those are some mediocre reporters. Either that or someone else said it." He shrugged with indifference.

But Chichi wasn't having it. She continued to glare at her brother until he finally asked, "WHAT? What do you want me to do? WHAT!?"

Then she smiled. A slow, evil smile that Vegeta didn't like. "We're going over to Capsule Corporation. Right now. And you're going to apologize, give her a house warming gift and then, we're going to cheer her up."

"Wha-What!?" He sputtered. "I will not-"

"Vegeta if you don't then, so help me, I will slash the tires of your car and take the brakes out."

"You're insane."

"Get dressed."

Then Chichi was gone, bouncing out, looking mighty chipper from her new idea. But, of course, whenever _Chichi_ was happy, _Vegeta_ was miserable.

---------

"Oh Bulma, cheer up." Her blond haired employee comforted, rubbing her shoulder. They were sitting in the kitchen, where Bulma had been for the last couple of minutes, staring straight ahead. Capsule Corporation was a hustle and bustle of activity by now yet none of it seemed to faze her daze. Her father and mother had already left her alone to do other things around the compound, after telling her the 'It's going to be alright, dear.' clichéd speech.

And, when Eighteen arrived, the first thing she had noticed was that her boss was no where to be found. Then, she had seen the newspaper, saw Bulma's tired expression and realized what was going on.

It wasn't that Bulma was especially concerned about the article. Hell, she had actually _known_ that she'd be on the cover page because of last night. No, it wasn't about that. She usually loved spotlight.

But this was negative. These were complaints, law suits, words from some anonymous person about whom she was. Who _she_ in the hell would he (They had said it was a he, right?) know what kind of_ person_ she was? If there was one thing she hated, it was being judged by her outer appearance.

No matter, Bulma thought in a sigh, finally sitting up and brushing it off. Both hate and love came from being famous. "Thanks Eighteen," She muttered. "For being here, that is. Uh...I'm going to go wash up. If you hadn't noticed, I look a mess." She tried to smile but it came out shaky.

Eighteen could only nod. She had seen her boss like this a number of times before and the blond knew that, after the initial shock and acceptance, Bulma would bounce back. It surprised her though that, after all the years of having gossip written about her, that it still affected her like this.

As the blue haired woman exited the room and went upstairs, Eighteen turned to see that there was a coat on the back of the chair that her boss had just been sitting in. She squinted, leaned in a little and her eyebrows rose when she saw the name on the inside label:

_Vegeta Prince._

* * *

After throwing Gohan out, Yamcha threw on his identical plumber outfit, grabbed his toolbox and hurried out. He was still scheduled at Capsule Corp. since there were so many things that needed maintenance. On one hand, Yamcha was glad that he had been given the job. For one, he got to see Bulma and that'd only work for his benefit in the long run. Concerning the bet, that is.

But, on the other hand, the man hated to get up early. And, for some unfathomable reason, it seemed as though CC opened up earlier then any other freaking business around this city.

He let the pros of the job propel him to the company car. He got in, put his toolbox in the passenger seat and headed off towards his destination. For some reason though, no matter how lights turned green or how many cars crisscrossed, he couldn't keep his mind off of something;

Vegeta and Bulma's date.

Before, he had been pretty paranoid about it. What if they had became attracted to each other?

He let out a bark of laughter. Bah, yeah right. With Vegeta's attitude, Yamcha was certain that the widow peaked male wouldn't have gotten that far.

Well, he was certain of that _now_. After reading and re-reading the article in the newspaper. He smirked at the memory of it. Obviously, their date hadn't gone as planned, probably due to Vegeta. And now, it had been broad casted to the whole world. Yamcha knew she had to be embarrassed.

Hopefully, this would completely dissolve whatever relationship had started to fabricate between the two.

Now, Yamcha thought victoriously, it was his turn to charm his way into her pants.

And he _would_.

* * *


End file.
